Inbetween Two Guys
by Tropical Slush
Summary: Yuna and her friends are going on vacation around Spira! What was meant to be a fun and relaxing holiday turns out to be a time filled with plots and schemes. With two guys determined to win Yuna's heart, who will come out victorious?
1. The New Guy

Disclaimer: I do not own Final Fantasy X, X-2 or any of the characters. This applies to all the chapters I will be posting in the future. The only thing I own is my storyline.

* * *

Yuna is a successful, famous singer. This was all thanks to Seymour, who was the one that offered her the chance to take voice lessons in his studio with the most sought-after trainer in Spira, Lenne. After a year and a half of hard training, Yuna put on her first concert in Luca. From that day on, she became the most popular celebrity in history. Since then, half a year has gone by... 

"You were really great today Yunie," said Rikku, bouncing up and down beside Yuna as they headed toward the parking lot. Rikku was Yuna's energetic cousin and best friend.

"Thanks Rikku, you're the best. I'm planning on taking the rest of the year off to relax and explore Spira. I've been so busy since I started doing all my concerts that I haven't had time to really enjoy the things and people around me. How would you like to come with me? And yes, you can bring Gippal along too," laughed Yuna, reading her cousin's mind instantly. Gippal was Rikku's steady boyfriend and wherever she was going, she would always want Gippal by her side.

"Yay!" exclaimed Rikku, hardly able to contain her excitement. "Come on Yunie! Let's walk faster so I can tell Gippal about our vacation sooner!" And with that, she grabbed Yuna's hand and started running toward their blue convertible.

"I'll drive," offered Yuna as she grabbed the car keys from Rikku. "I don't think you should drive while you're in the state of mind you are in right now."

Rikku giggled as she took the front passenger seat. Yuna started the engine and put the roof down, exposing them to the balmy evening air . She glanced sideways at her best friend as she pulled onto the road, smiling. Rikku was the type of person who could get really excited, even hyper, about anything. But that was one of the things Yuna loved about her bestfriend. It was also because of this characteristic that people around her never get bored. As Yuna came to a halt at a stop sign, a familiar sight caught her eye.

"Hey Wakka," said Yuna as she pulled down the window. "Just finished blitzball practice?"

"Yo Yuna, Rikku. Ya, just had an amazing practice session with our new player. He's got talent," beamed Wakka. "Anyways, can you give us a ride? Lulu took my car," he explained with a sheepish grin.

"Us?" questioned Rikku, who had calmed down considerably by now.

"Ya. Me and the new guy. Here he is right now. Yo, Tidus!" called Wakka, waving his arms madly in the air. Yuna looked out the window and her heart skipped a beat. A very good looking young man was walking toward them. In fact, he was the most handsome guy Yuna had ever seen in her life. He had blonde hair, azure eyes, and was very well built.

"Hi guys," said Tidus when he reached the blue convertible. "Nice to meet you all. My name's Tidus and I'm the new player on the Besaid Aurochs."

"Hiya! My name's Rikku and this is Yuna, although I'm sure you already know who she is," Rikku grinned.

"Uh, hi," murmured Yuna, blushing slightly when their eyes met.

"Anyways, we can chitchat on the way home," interrupted Wakka. "Come on Tidus." Wakka opened the door to let Rikku out and they both climbed into the backseat. "He's coming over to my place Yuna."

Yuna nodded and continued to drive. The car soon filled with conversation about blitzball and before long, Yuna parked the car onto the driveway.

"We're here already? But we were just starting to get to know each other. How 'bout you two come over to me and Lu's place for dinner? We have so much more to talk about." offered Wakka. "And ya, Gippal can come too."

"Yippie!" cried Rikku as she dialed her boyfriend's number. Yuna and Wakka exchanged smiles. Anyone who had known Rikku and Gippal for any amount of time would know that they were about to have a very hyper eighteen year old girl and nineteen year old boy over for dinner.

"She's always like that whenever her boyfriend, Gippal, and her get to hangout together," explained Yuna. Tidus looked at her and smiled, nodding his head to indicate he understood why Rikku was acting this way now. She returned his smile then followed Wakka to his house.

"Yuna and Rikku live right next door to me and my wife Lulu," said Wakka. "Have a seat ya."

Tidus sat down next to Yuna on the couch. Yuna tensed up slightly and her heartbeat quickened. She pretended to flip through a pile of magazines on the coffee table next to the couch so he wouldn't see her blushing.

"So Yuna, I can't believe its really you! I'm a big fan of your singing and I've been to a few of your concerts too. You're amazing. But I heard that your last concert was the last one this year. Is that true?" asked Tidus.

Yuna set down the magazines and leaned back onto the couch. "Thanks. I'm glad to have you as my fan. But it is true. I've decided to take the rest of the year off to spend more time with my friends and family. I'm planning a big vacation for all of us to go and visit different places around Spira. I've included Rikku, Gippal, Wakka, and Lulu. Oh, and Seymour too. He's my publicist so wherever I go, he has to go too," she explained with a smile.

"Ahh. Sounds like fun. I wish I could go," Tidus mused, putting his hands behind his head and leaning back.

Yuna looked over at him and scanned his face. Just then, the front door flew open and Gippal entered the house with Rikku on his arm, who was giggling wildly.

"Hey there Yuna, how've you been? What's that smell?" asked Gippal, sniffing the air.

"Smells like something's burnt," replied Rikku, pinching her nose to try and block out the horrible odour. "And its coming from the kitchen."

"Sorry guys. I guess this is why Lulu does the cooking around here. I guess we'll have to order take out," concluded Wakka sheepishly.

So they had a feast of all sorts of food while Rikku and Gippal kept everyone entertained with their hyperness. By the time they had finished eating, talking, and goofing off, it was well past midnight. The front door squeaked slightly as it opened once more to reveal Lulu.

"Hi everyone. Wakka, have you been cooking in the kitchen again?" she demanded, her hands on her hips.

"Lulu, don't blame Wakka. He tried to make dinner for all of us even though his attempt at it wasn't successful," voiced Yuna softly, sleepiness stinging her sapphire and emerald eyes.

Lulu let out a sigh and softened her expression. She shook her head and smiled at Yuna, causing her long, braided hair to fall over her shoulders. Lulu observed the rest of the company.

"Who's that young man?" she questioned.

"He's Tidus, a new member of the Besaid Au-Aurochs," Rikku yawned sleepily as she rested her head on Gippal's shoulder, who was snoring loudly with bits of chips in his hair.

"I see. But its getting late, shouldn't you guys be getting home? You all look so tired."

With that, everyone began departing the house, thanking Wakka on the way out. Yuna stepped outside and hung back with Rikku and Gippal when she saw Tidus get into the passengers seat of Wakka's car. She watched him until they drove out of sight, then sauntered to her and Rikku's house, humming a happy tune softly all the way. Yuna sat down on her bed, took off her boots and changed into her PJ's. Then she fell back onto her bed and closed her eyes.

* * *

So that was chapter one. This is the first fanfic I've ever written so I'd love to hear feedback from all you wonderful people who read my story. In other words, please review! 


	2. Dreams and a Wise Guy

A/N: Hey everyone! I'm glad you guys liked chapter one. Thanks to all you awesome people who took the time to read and submit a review. I really appreciate it and I love you guys for it! Heres chapter two. Enjoy!

* * *

_Yuna stood in a field of flowers, looking out into the distant ocean as the sun shone down pleasantly. All was quiet until she heard footsteps behind her. She turned around and ran toward a young man, throwing her arms around him and hugging him closely. He returned her hug. _

_"You came," whispered Yuna. Tears filled her eyes. _

_He loosened his grip and held her at arm length, looking deeply into her eyes. _

_"Of course I did. I love you," he replied. _

_"Tidus," she said happily as the tears spilled down her cheek. "I love you too." _

_They locked gazes for what seemed like an eternity. Then, Yuna closed her eyes when their faces were inches apart..._

Suddenly, a loud car horn blared outside the house. Yuna bolted up in her bed, breathing heavily. It took her a second to realize what was going on. She was having the most wonderful dream and was getting to the best part when some smart guy outside decided to send her crashing back to reality.

"I'm gonna give him a piece of my mind," Yuna mumbled grumpily as she flung the covers back and got out of bed. She checked the clock on her nightstand. "It's six in the morning! Whoever the wise guy is, they definitely have no respect for others what so ever!"

Yuna stormed out of her bedroom and peeled open the front door, turning her head left and right to try and locate the source of the noise.

"Morning Yuna!" called a man with blue hair, waving his hand as he got out from his white jeep. He was wearing a white dress shirt and black pants.

Yuna's jaw dropped. "What are you doing here Seymour? And at this hour too."

"Rise and shine!" said Seymour brightly as he ascended the stone steps leading to her house and stopped in front of her. "Nice PJ's."

Yuna looked down at what she was wearing. "What? You got something against flowers?"

He shook his head, "No, of course not. I was just joking. You sure are grouchy this morning. Usually you can take a joke like this."

"Well I'm not used to getting up at six in the morning with a car horn for an alarm clock," Yuna replied. She yawned and rubbed her sleepy eyes.

Seymour chuckled, "Sorry. But I couldn't sleep last night so I decided to get up earlier to see if you'd like to have breakfast with me. There's this new place in Kilika that's suppose to be really good."

"I don't know Seymour. I think I'd rather sleep some more," said Yuna as she stifled another yawn, making her eyes water slightly.

"Come on. Besides, you're already up. All you have to do is get changed and wash up," insisted Seymour. He pulled out a dozen crimson roses from behind his back, "And these are for you, the beautiful lady who I hope will be accompanying me for breakfast."

Yuna gave him a tired smile, "Alright. You win this time but next time you won't win so easily."

She turned around and headed back into the house with the roses in her hand. After washing up she headed to her room and threw on a colourful skirt and baby blue tank top. Then she put the flowers in a vase, filled it with water and went to check up on Rikku. Yuna walked into her cousin's room quietly and found her sprawled across the bed on her stomach with the covers askew. She readjusted Rikku's blanket for her and scribbled a note on a notepad, telling her best friend where she was and when she should be back. She then exited the house and got in Seymour's jeep. He flashed her a smile and started driving off to Kilika. Yuna tipped her seat back and looked out the window at the cloudless sky. It was a beautiful morning. The sun was pouring in through the glass and the sky was a robins egg blue. Yuna thought back to the dream she was having earlier. She smiled as she recounted the events in the dream but it faded when she reached the end. If only Seymour had arrived a few minutes later then she would have kissed Tidus. She glanced over at Seymour and for a moment she felt hatred toward him. But it subsided quickly because she knew it was not really his fault. Yuna closed her eyes, the warm sun that enveloped her was making her drowsy. Maybe, just maybe, if she fell asleep she would have the same dream again...

_A little girl was sitting on a fluffy white blanket underneath a tree, watching the sunset. The sky was a beautiful orangey red and the dusk air was balmy. A man was walking toward her, carrying a lantern. He hung the lantern in the tree then sat down next to her and smiled. _

_"Daddy, the sun's so pretty," exclaimed Yuna. _

_"Yes it is. But after the sun goes down and nightfall comes, the stars are even prettier," he said. _

_Yuna lifted her face toward the quickly darkening sky, "The stars are so high up in the sky!" _

_She stared in awe at the brightly twinkling dots above. _

_"You want to go catch some stars?" he asked. _

_"We can catch stars?" _

_"See those bright lights in the bushes? They're the stars that have taken form as fireflies." _

_Yuna got up and ran toward the bushes with her arms outstretched, laughing happily..._

"We're here," came Seymour's voice from somewhere in the distance.

Yuna opened her eyes. They were indeed in Kilika. A magnificent glass building was standing before them and the abundant palm trees everywhere were swaying ever so slightly in the gentle ocean breeze. Seymour opened the car door and Yuna stepped out. He held out his hand to gesture her to enter.

"Two please," said Seymour in a business-like manner. "And I want a more secluded table obviously."

The waiter nodded ecstatically, hardly able to believe who he was about to be serving breakfast to and led them to their table. After Yuna signed an autograph for the waiter, they ordered their breakfast. Then Seymour pulled about thirty pamphlets, twenty books, and some maps out of his large briefcase.

"I got these to help you and your friends plan your vacation," he explained, pushing the mountain of books and papers across the table.

"What if somebody else wanted to come along?" asked Yuna, perking up.

Seymour looked surprised then smiled, "It doesn't matter to me, as long as you want them to, they can." He studied her expression with interest, his navy eyes resting on her face.

"Oh, uh, a friend of mine mentioned that he'd really like to come too," stammered Yuna, lowering her eyes. She picked up her glass of water and drank it as slowly as she could so she wouldn't have to continue on the subject.

He smiled and shrugged but kept his eyes on her. The waiter came with their food and they ate without speaking much. After they had finished, Yuna walked out to the dock overlooking the ocean. She sighed and stared out into the bottomless cerulean sea that stretched as far and wide as she could see. Seymour stood next to her and tried to read her expression but she was as readable as the palm trees surrounding them. Yuna was lost in thought. She had almost told Seymour that she wanted Tidus along on their trip. But she could feel that Seymour knew the person she wanted along was someone important to her. He always seemed to be able to know what she was thinking. He was one of the only people she'd ever met who could do that. Not even Rikku could and they'd known each other practically since birth. Yuna bit her lip. She didn't want Seymour to know about Tidus or why she wanted him along. After all, it's really none of his business. She smiled a false smile at him and started walking toward his jeep. Seymour followed. The trip back was as silent as could be since she occupied herself with the stack of books and pamphlets but to be honest, Yuna preferred it that way.

"You still have time to think and decide," said Seymour when they arrived outside Yuna's house. "Just tell me about any changes."

She nodded and got out, staggering a little under the weight of the printed information. Once she got hold of all the books, she headed toward Wakka's house.

* * *

And that was chapter two. I hope you guys liked it and I would love to hear from all of you who read this. Tell me what you think. Please review! 


	3. Yuna's Past

A/N: Hey everyone! Thank you soo much to all of you who submitted reviews. You guys are the absolute best! It feels nice to know that there are people out there reading my story and liking it too. So this is the last chapter thats sort of "introductory". Next chapter has...well, you'll just have to wait and see but on with this chapter first!

* * *

Yuna walked up the short stone steps and rang the doorbell with her elbow. A few moments later, a lock could be heard opening and Lulu appeared at the door, holding it open for her. 

"Morning Yuna."

"Morning," echoed Yuna as she stepped inside. "I came to talk to you and Wakka about the trip."

"Somebody say my name?" said Wakka as he entered the room with Tidus trailing behind.

"Hey Yuna," said Tidus, flashing her a smile.

"Hey Tidus, Wakka," Yuna said cheerfully.

Her spirit lifted at the sight of him and her heart melted from his smile. She momentarily forgot about the thirty pounds of stuff she was carrying as a warm, fuzzy feeling spread throughout her body. But when Wakka continued to speak, she crashed back to earth from "happyland" and nearly dropped them on her feet.

"Yuna, this guy here wants to come along on our trip. Whaddaya say?" asked Wakka, clapping Tidus on the shoulder.

"I've no objections," replied Yuna instantly. "We'll be leaving sometime this week and won't be back for at least a month or two. All that's left is for Seymour to book our plane tickets."

Wakka gave Tidus a hi-five and they grinned at each other. She walked over to the coffee table and set down the mountainous pile of brochures and pamphlets. The heavy material she had been carrying had left red marks along her arm but she was totally oblivious to them. Yuna smiled as she watched them, the fuzzy feeling returning to her once again.

"Seymour gave me those this morning. Take a look through them and tell me where you guys want to go or do. I've already circled all the things I'm thinking we should do or go see. Anyways, I'm gonna go and tell Rikku to start packing her bags. You know her, she's bound to forget something."

"See ya," said Tidus, waving his hand.

Yuna smiled then turned and left the house. Tidus pulled out a chair at the table and sat down, leafing through the material she had brought over. He uncapped a pen and began making black marks on its contents.

"So you've known Yuna for a long time?"

"Yup. Me and Lu have known her ever since she was born," said Wakka light-heartedly. But then his expression turned serious. "We've been taking care of her ever since she was six. Me and Lu are sort of like her parents although she's always looked up to us as something along the lines of her older brother and sister. But either way, she's always regarded us as family."

"Yuna's childhood wasn't as happy as it should have been," said Lulu as she strolled into the room with a wooden spoon in one hand and a bowl in the other. She dipped the spoon into the bowl and began stirring the icing in it as she took a seat next to Wakka on the couch. "Her parents were in a terrible car accident and neither of them survived. It was a horrible time for all of us. I still remember that day vividly. The day that we'll never forget."

_-Flashback-_

_"Hello Wakka, Lulu," said Yuna's mom as she walked inside the house with her husband behind her and their daughter in her arms. "I can't thank you enough for doing us this favour."_

_"Don't mention it ya, what are friends for?" Wakka grinned, clapping Yuna's dad on the shoulder. "Especially since we're the best kind of friends there are."_

_Braska nodded in agreement. His wife handed Yuna over to Lulu. She looked down at the sleeping child now cradled in her arms, so innocent, so sweet. Wakka and Lulu bid goodbye to Yuna's parents as they left for their business trip to Luca. It was a wonderful morning. A pleasant breeze was wafting into the house through the kitchen window and it was sunny as could be with the birds chirping happily in their nests. It wasn't until later that night that the weather had turned nasty. Dark clouds loomed overhead as a steady drizzle began to fall. Lightening streaked across the sky countless times but there was no thunder to be heard. At 9:56 pm, Lulu picked up Yuna and tucked her in bed, telling her the story of Cinderella and stroking her short brown hair until she was asleep. Then she went to bed herself. A few hours later, the phone rang. Wakka opened his sleepy eyes and the scarlet numbers on his digital clock nearly blinded him in the dark. It was 12:24 am. He quickly shut his eyes again, then sat up and began feeling around on the nightstand with his hand. When he finally found it, he picked up the phone._

_"Hullo?"_

_Wakka kept his eyes shut tight and leaned against the headboard as he listened to the rain lashing against the window and a man on the other end of the phone. But as the conversation continued, his eyes widened and a gasp of horror left him. Lulu rolled over to her side in a bed that was on the other side of the nightstand._

_"Who is it?"_

_He hung up the phone clumsily and faced his fiancee. Lulu sat up. In the flashes of lightening, she could see Wakka's face was pale as chalk and his hands were trembling uncontrollably._

_"I-it was the po-police. Th-they said that Br-Braska and Lianne were in an ac-accident. Li-Lianne didn't make it."_

_Lulu ran to Yuna's room and wrapped a blanket around her. They rushed to the hospital just in time to hear Braska's last words - his last request. _

_"Pl-please...ta-take care of Yu-Yuna f-for us..."he pleaded before his hand fell limply to his side. _

_The nurse gently guided them away from the bed and began collecting the oxygen mask and other instruments they had used to try and save his life. Wakka stared in disbelief, his mouth hanging slightly open and shaking his head. Lulu hugged Yuna, who was fast asleep, closer to her. Tears were streaking down her colourless face._

_Their worst nightmare had come true. The bodies of their best friends lay beneath two white sheets, never to wake again... _

_-Flashback Ends-_

They sat in silence after Lulu finished recounting the night that changed their lives forever. The pen slipped out of Tidus' fingers. He quickly bent down to retrieved it and set it on a green place mat. He would have never guessed in a million years that Yuna's childhood was the way it was.

"That's why me and Lu are always easy on her," said Wakka quietly, breaking the almost unbearable silence. "Like that night we were all over here for dinner, when she told Lu not to blame me..."

"After that night, Yuna was like our own daughter to Wakka and I. We raised her like we would have raised our own child," continued Lulu. She had stopped mixing the icing when she was telling him the story but now resumed back to the circular motion with the spoon.

"We tried our best to make her happy, but it took her quite a while before she could cope with the trauma. Can't blame her, being only a young child back then. But after she accepted the fate of her parents, she became a strong girl and strived to do her best in everything. She even decided to pursue her own dream of becoming a singer when she was sixteen. She was lucky to have met Seymour or she might not be where she is today. That's why she's always been grateful toward him ya," said Wakka matter-of-factly.

"Seymour and Yuna are good friends," said Lulu. "She was going to her usual voice lessons one day and he happened to walk by the room she was practicing in. He thought she was very gifted at singing so he offered her lessons to train with Lenne. From the day she put on her first concert, Seymour has decided to become Yuna's publicist. He treats her with respect and generosity, that's why he's offered to pay for most of the costs on this trip around Spira."

"He did?" asked Tidus, looking up. This caught him by surprise. "All Yuna told me was that he was coming because he was her publicist."

"Well its what he's using as an excuse to come along on this trip so people won't start spreading rumours about them having an affair or anything like that," replied Lulu simply. "He said he's always wanted to take some time off too, so he thought of this reason as a cover up."

She got up and disappeared into the kitchen. A moment later, a scrumptious odour of baked goods filled the house.

"That Seymour sure is a decent guy," Wakka mused. "Anyways, you'd better start packing your bags. Wouldn't want to forget something at the last minute ya?"

Lulu quickly came back into the room, afraid that Tidus had already left. She was folding up a paper bag which she handed to Tidus.

"Cinnamon rolls."

Tidus nodded and stood up. He had heard from Wakka plenty of times that Lulu was a really good baker who worked at a fancy hotel that was very popular. "Thanks Lulu. See ya."

As he left the house, he rummaged through his pocket to find his keys and got into his shiny black BMW. He looked out the window at Yuna's house and saw her sitting by the window with Rikku. He smiled, then reached into the paper bag and took out one of the four cinnamon rolls. He took a bite of the best cinnamon roll he's ever had before driving home.

* * *

And that was chapter 3. I hope you guys liked it and please review! Whoever reviews will...uh..get a virtual gift basket full of baked goods and chocolates! 


	4. Seymour Declares War

A/N: Hey everyone! I've finally found some time among all the school work I needed to do to put the finishing touches on this chapter. Thanks to all of my fabulously wonderful reviewers, I really appreciate your comments. And all you Seymour haters out there, well, I'm not going to give anything away so you'll just have to read to find out! Enjoy!

* * *

Tidus woke up the next morning to find the weather gloomy. The grey clouds covering the sky threatened to rain on the city of Besaid. Now he was more glad than ever he was able to go along on Yuna's trip. He jumped out of bed and pulled out a black suitcase from the corner of his closet. He stood for a moment, thinking about what he would be needing during this trip. A whole month or two away from home to have fun with his new friends. He smiled at the thought and unzipped his trunk. Then, turning back to his closet, he started folding his clothes into a pile and putting them into his suitcase. By the time he was done, it was nearly noon. Zipping up his trunk once again, he stood up and let out a breath of accomplishment. 

"I think I'll go out for lunch," Tidus said to himself. After all, he felt he deserved to treat himself to something after spending all morning getting packed.

His parents were at work and wouldn't be back until later that evening. He threw on a pair of jeans and a black t-shirt and headed out toward a restaurant a few blocks away. As he parked his car in an empty stall, he spotted Yuna with someone he'd never seen before walking into the restaurant. He quickly locked the doors and followed them inside.

"I have a reservation for two under 'Seymour'."

"Right this way sir," the waiter said, motioning them to follow him.

"Sir, do you have a reservation?" asked another waiter, holding out his hand to stop Tidus who was standing on his tiptoes, trying to look over the tall waiter's arm.

Yuna turned around and smiled, "Tidus!"

Tidus returned the smile and strolled over to her when the waiter stepped aside for him to go through. Seymour held out his hand.

"Excuse me but Miss Yuna is trying to have lunch-"

"Don't worry Seymour, this is my friend Tidus," interrupted Yuna. She turned to Tidus, "How 'bout we all have lunch together? You guys can get to know each other."

Seymour shrugged and they followed the waiter to their table. Seymour pulled out the chair a little for Yuna to sit then sat down next to her. Tidus sat on her other side across from Seymour.

"Seymour, I was going to tell you but Tidus will be coming along on our trip," said Yuna cheerfully. She gestured with her hand, "Tidus, this is Seymour. Seymour, this is Tidus."

Tidus held out his hand and Seymour shook it very briefly, then pulled away and started scanning through the menu. Yuna didn't seem to notice Seymour's behaviour and busied herself with the menu too. Every once in a while she would make suggestions to Tidus and they ended up ordering the same thing. After the waiter sauntered off, Yuna broke into conversation with Tidus.

"So have you been getting ready for the trip?" asked Yuna, leaning in his direction slightly.

"Yeah, I spent all morning packing," replied Tidus, feeling quite proud of himself.

"Really? I haven't even started yet. I spent most of my time helping Rikku," smiled Yuna. "She wanted to bring her whole closet with her so all I did really was take stuff out of her suitcase."

Tidus laughed, which made Yuna giggle. Soon, they broke into fits of giggles and laughter. Seymour cleared his throat and they stopped. He had been observing them for the past fifteen minutes but neither of them seemed to have noticed.

"Uh, Seymour, have you been packing too?" questioned Yuna. She didn't actually care or wanted to know but she had just realized that she had left him out of their conversation completely and thought she should probably start including him.

"Yes I have. I finished packing quite a few days ago," he boasted.

He shot Tidus a look of triumph, as if packing their bags was some sort of competition and that he'd won. But Tidus seemed totally oblivious to this.

"Excuse me," said Yuna as she got up and went to the bathroom.

As soon as she was out of earshot, Seymour turned his attention to Tidus.

"So, are you trying to compete with me? Because if you are, you're not going to win," he said, a look of menace in his eyes.

"Wha-?" said Tidus, clearly confused by what Seymour was talking about.

A smile played across Seymour's lips, but it was not a friendly one. "You won't win Yuna's heart. I'm the one who's going to get to be with her. You know nothing about her but I have a long history with her."

Tidus was taken back. So this was the real reason Seymour wanted to come along on the trip. Disbelief seared through his mind as the truth finally sunk in. He had no intentions of any kind to compete with Seymour at all.

"I just wanted to come along because I thought this trip sounded amazing and would be tons of fun," Tidus started explaining.

Seymour began to chuckle lightly and shook his head. He rested his elbows on the table and put his chin on his hands, a look of pure evil was etched on his face, "Well, let's see who wins, you or me."

"Sorry," Yuna said as she returned to the table and took her seat. "I ran into a lot of my fans so I got a bit preoccupied on my way back."

Seymour's expression changed as quickly as it had come. He was now smiling at Yuna as charmingly as he could and she gave him a brief smile before turning to Tidus.

"So what did you guys talk about while I was gone?"

"Oh, uh...nothing really. Just...stuff about the trip," Tidus lied.

Yuna smiled and took her hands off the crisp white tablecloth when the waiter arrived with their lunches. Tidus smiled weakly back at her. He had always hated lying to people but he didn't know if Yuna would believe him if he told her what they were really talking about. Besides, Seymour was sitting right there in front of him. He couldn't tell her the truth with him sitting where he could hear them. Seymour would most likely defend himself by saying none of that was true and it would make him look like the bad guy. Yuna would probably distance herself from him, which means she would become closer to Seymour, the person who had just declared war on him over Yuna.

"This pasta is the absolute best," said Yuna as she took a bite of it. "What do you think Tidus?"

"Huh? Er, yeah. Pasta. Its alright," he replied distractedly.

Yuna set down her fork. "Are you alright? You seem preoccupied. Or is there something wrong with the fettuccine?"

He shook his head and shoved a forkful of pasta in his mouth, forcing himself to chew. He took a quick glance at Seymour who was eating grilled chicken with a queer look on his face. It looked as if he was daring him to tell Yuna what they had talked about earlier. He swallowed the pasta and felt a lump form in his throat. He needed to tell Yuna. But now was not the time. He would have to tell her when Seymour was not around.

"Tidus?" asked Yuna. A look of concern was written all over her face.

"Huh?"

He looked down and saw that he had stabbed his fork in a piece of bread in the bread basket. Quickly, he withdrew his fork to his plate and began buttering the bread attached to it. Yuna smiled, thinking that he'd only wanted a slice of bread.

"Seymour's going to book our plane tickets today. We're leaving this Thursday at eleven thirty in the morning. Seymour will come pick us up at Wakka's house then."

"Not a problem. That's fine with me," said Tidus.

"Then everything's settled. Our trip will commence in two days!" said Yuna cheerfully, throwing her hand up in the air.

A grin spread across Tidus' face as he watched her. He picked up his drink and noticed that someone too, was watching him: it was Seymour. Tidus swallowed a sip of Italian Soda uncomfortably, nearly choking on it, and was very glad when Yuna got up to leave. He followed her outside while Seymour stayed to pay the bill.

"Seymour will be busy at the traveling agency," said Yuna. She glanced over her shoulder and saw Seymour throwing on his blazer at the entrance. "Do you mind giving me a ride?"

Tidus shook his head and held open the car door for her. He got into the drivers seat and began driving off, oblivious to Seymour's ice cold stare burning into the back window of his car.

* * *

And that was chapter 4. I want to know what you guys thought of this chapter. You may also include any questions you have about my story such as the age of the characters. I may update sooner if I get lots of reviews so please review! 


	5. Last Night at Home

A/N: Hey everyone! Sorry it took me so long to update but school and homework's been keeping me really busy. I want to thank all my wonderfully fabulous reviewers. You guys rock! My next chapter will be the beginning of their trip. All Seymour haters, you don't want to miss it. But before that, there's this chapter. Enjoy!

* * *

Yuna woke up at nearly noon the next day. After washing up and throwing on a soft pink tee and faded jeans, she went to get lunch started. She opened the fridge and searched through each compartment, pulling out a little of what they had left. After she finished preparing the ingredients, she grabbed two bowls and lined each one with lettuce, cubed tomatoes, finely chopped carrots, grated cheese, bacon bits, and topped them off with some croutons. 

"Rikku!" Yuna called as she set the bowls and a bottle of dressing on the table. "lunch is almost ready, get up."

Rikku opened her eyes slowly. She wanted to go back to sleep for a few more hours but the smell of crispy bacon was making her hungry so she dragged herself out of bed. After washing up, she returned to her room and threw on a skirt and yellow tee. She walked into the kitchen and found her best friend waiting for her patiently at the table.

"Sorry Yunie. I know today was suppose to be my day for cooking," said Rikku as she took a seat next to her at the table.

"It's alright. You'll just have to cook a few more times after we get back from vacation," Yuna teased.

Rikku smiled, knowing her best friend wouldn't be mad at her over something like this and took a look at the feast laid out before her. On top of the salad, Yuna had made some chicken quesadillas and two glasses of blended fruit drinks.

"Yunie," said Rikku, turning to her cousin. "this is why I love it so much when you make our meals. I don't know what I'd do without you."

Yuna smiled. Rikku always had a way of making people feel important and wanted when she hadn't done something she was suppose to. She assumed that Rikku would probably have went over to Lulu and Wakka's house for lunch if she hadn't bothered to make some food. They both dug into their lunches and had a casual conversation, from which Yuna found out why Rikku hadn't waken up early enough this morning to make their lunches.

"Well, I guess I should have at least had a hunch that this was the reason," said Yuna with a mischievous smile as she picked up her glass and bowl and set them in the sink.

"I'll do the dishes," Rikku offered and began clearing the table as well.

She was suppose to make a quick call to Gippal to invite him over for dinner yesterday but ended up talking on the phone all night instead. She knew Yuna wasn't mad at her but she felt she should make it up to her somehow. After all, this wasn't the first time that Yuna had to step in and do what Rikku wasn't able to. As a matter of fact, this was the second time this week that Yuna had to make lunch for both of them. Rikku had said just yesterday that to make it up, she'd make an extra special breakfast this morning as well as lunch. They had agreed when they first moved into house together that they'd take turns making breakfast or lunch each day. Dinner was not a problem since they always ate at Wakka and Lulu's place.

Rikku turned on the tap and poured some dishwashing liquid into the sink. She grabbed the dish cloth and began washing. Yuna grabbed another towel and began rinsing the bowls and drying them off. Rikku smiled at her, glad not for the first time, that Yuna was her best friend. Rikku wasn't the most reliable or responsible person at times, but Yuna would always be there for her no matter what because they were very close to each other not to mention best friends.

"I'm gonna go and pack my suitcase now," said Yuna after they finished. "We're leaving tomorrow morning remember."

A grin spread across Rikku's face, "Of course I do! How could I forget?"

She started skipping around the kitchen. Yuna laughed at her best friend's behaviour and returned to her room. She opened up her suitcase and began folding her clothes neatly into it. An hour later, Yuna stood up and examined her closet. She had taken almost all the clothes she owned with her. If it was just with her friends and family, she would have just brought along half of her closet. But of course, there was someone else coming along and she wanted to be as prepared as possible for any occasions. She moved her suitcase over to one side and went to put on her flip flops at the front door.

"Rikku, I'm going grocery shopping for dinner tonight. Do you wanna come?"

"Yup yup!" replied Rikku as she came skipping toward her cousin.

Yuna parked the car shortly after and they went inside the supermarket. They walked through every aisle and soon, the cart was filled with everything from mushrooms to french bread. After Yuna double checked the shopping list, they went to the checkout aisle, paid and went home. They got the bags of groceries into the kitchen with the help of Lulu.

"Wow, looks like we're going to have a delicious dinner tonight," said Lulu as she examined everything they bought.

"Thanks Lulu. I wanted to make something special since this is our last night at home for a while," replied Yuna. She emptied the bags on to the counter. "I'm looking forward to your surprise dessert. Whatever it is, I'm betting it'll be very good."

Rikku nodded, "Won't you tell us what it is? The suspense is _killing_ me!"

Lulu smiled but shook her head. Rikku made a pouty face and went to wash and cut the groceries.

"Well, I'd better go and get started on the dessert if I want to have it ready on time. See you tonight," said Lulu, eyeing the sun-shaped clock on the wall before leaving.

Yuna threw on an apron and began making dinner. A few hours later, she had finished cooking and was putting the final touches on the meal. She was cutting up the french bread while Rikku got some brie cheese and butter out. At 6:30, the guests were beginning to arrive. The first to come were of course Lulu and Wakka. Tidus came shortly after with Gippal.

"Welcome everyone, to our house," said Yuna. She had said "everyone" but she was mostly indicating Tidus, who has never been to their house before. "just make yourself feel at home. Dinner will begin in a few minutes."

She turned and disappeared into the kitchen. Rikku, however, was curiously inspecting the box Lulu had brought over. She was trying to guess what the dessert was but got pulled into the kitchen by Yuna. At a quarter to seven, everyone took a seat around the table while Yuna and Rikku ladled some cream of mushroom soup into bowls for everyone. Soon, the dining room filled with conversation, mainly with Yuna soaking in compliments considering she cooked the entire meal.

"This soup is so good Yuna. I didn't know you were so talented at cooking," said Tidus, sipping a spoonful of soup.

Yuna blushed hard and grabbed a piece of bread, buttering it more than necessary. Gippal, who was playing with his food as usual, slurped his soup as loudly as he could. After everyone finished, Yuna poured glasses of fruit punch and Rikku passed around plates of lasagna. Once again, Gippal entertained them by "operating" on his piece of lasagna. Rikku laughed and threw her balled-up napkin at him, trying to make him stop. He tipped his chair back against the wall to avoid the kleenex.

Yuna laughed too. She wondered how long it would be before they could sit at a meal and joke around again. But then again, as long as Gippal was with them, they could do it anytime they wanted. She glanced over at Tidus, who was laughing along with everyone else and sighed softly. The way he looked when he smiled, with his face all lit up, made her heart flutter. Yuna smiled again. She would be able to see him everyday for at least a month.

"If everyone's ready, I'll go get the dessert I made," said Lulu, getting up to retrieve the scrumptious smelling box.

Wakka and Tidus nodded, Rikku cheered and Gippal snorted. Yuna looked over at Gippal and tried hard not to laugh. There was paper strewn all over his blonde hair and a slice of french bread on his each of his eyes. It looked like he was getting some kind of bread facial. Lulu came back in and revealed the surprise dessert: double layered chocolate fudge cake.

"Look what grew in overnight!" exclaimed Gippal. He had taken the whipped cream off the cake and placed it on his upper lip so it looked like he had a white moustache.

Everyone burst into laughter and started teasing him about aging forty years in a few hours. When they had finished, it was past nine o'clock. Yuna got up to clear the plates as everyone filed into the living room to socialize. Tidus stayed behind to help her.

"You don't have to. Rikku should be the one helping me," said Yuna. But Rikku had been like glue on Gippal's arm all night.

Tidus grabbed another towel and stood next to her by the sink. She smiled gratefully at him and he smiled back at her. She grabbed a plate and began washing the chocolate off of it.

"I can't believe we're leaving tomorrow. It seems so unreal," said Tidus as he rinsed off the plate and dried it.

"I know. But its gonna be so much fun," replied Yuna, who was now washing a fork.

"I'm really excited. I've never been away from home for such a long time with my friends," said Tidus. "All the things we'll see and all the exotic food we'll be having."

He took the towel and threw it over his arm, "Good evening Miss, you're looking lovely tonight. For two? Right this way."

Yuna laughed and flicked some soap suds at him. He shielded himself with the towel and began laughing too. Slowly, her laughing ceased and she simply stared at him. At the way his eyes sparkled. At the way his face was glowing. She sighed inwardly and looked away when she felt a blush creeping up in her cheeks. She hoped he hadn't seen her looking at him and returned to the dishes. Tidus had now stopped laughing too. He was alone with Yuna. Now would be a good time to tell her.

"Um, Yuna," Tidus began as he dried off a spoon. "About Seymour..."

Tidus placed the towel on the counter and turned to face her. Yuna dried her hands on a towel after pulling the plug to drain the sink and turned to face him. He had a serious expression on his face. She knew this must be important.

Yuna remained silent so he continued, "And what we really talked about. I think he sees you as more than...just a friend."

"You mean..." said Yuna quietly. "he has...feelings for me?"

Tidus placed his hand on her arm, "I felt that you should know because, well, I just want you to be safe."

At that moment, they could hear the guests getting up to leave and Rikku seeing them to the door.

He scanned her face, "He said that he's going to win your heart. Just be careful Yuna. And, see you tomorrow."

He gave her arm a quick squeeze before leaving. Yuna walked into the living room and looked out the window at Tidus. Her mind was dazed from what he had just told her. She didn't know what will happen on this trip after learning about Seymour, but there was something that no one else knew but her: Tidus had already won her heart from the moment they first met.

* * *

And thats the end of chapter 5. I hope you liked it. I will try to update as soon as I can but just to let you know, I may write faster if I get lots of reviews. So please review! 


	6. Aboard Air Spira Skylines

A/N: Hey everyone! Wow, this is the soonest I have ever updated before! After all those reviews, how could I make you guys wait any longer? I want to thank all my awesome reviewers. You guys truly are the best and I really appreciate it! So here's chapter 6, the beginning to Seymour torture. Enjoy!

* * *

The following morning was pleasant although the sun was hidden behind the wispy clouds. Yuna and Rikku grabbed their suitcases and headed out towards Wakka's house. They descended the stone steps and found Seymour helping Wakka and Lulu load their baggage's into the trunk of a red coloured van. 

"Morning everyone," said Yuna as she approached them with Rikku at her side.

Seymour turned around to smile at her but Yuna had already averted her eyes down the road. A familiar black car turned around the corner and a grin spread across her face. She left her suitcase on the sidewalk and began walking towards the BMW, which stopped beside her. Tidus got out and they smiled at each other. Gippal climbed out from the passenger seat, still looking half asleep. After they got their luggage out of the trunk, Tidus parked his car into the double garage of Yuna's house.

"Yunie! We need to go now!" called Rikku from Seymour's van.

"Coming!" replied Yuna.

Everyone piled into the van and they started out for the airport. Yuna chose to sit at the very back with Tidus and Lulu. She wanted to keep some distance between herself and her publicist now that she learned more about Seymour. Seymour however, kept giving her glances in the mirror and it was making her uncomfortable.

"Yuna, you alright?" asked Tidus gently.

He had noticed her fidgeting in her seat slightly every now and then.

"Yeah, I'm fine," replied Yuna. She plastered on a small smile.

Tidus nodded but was not very convinced. He knew why she was acting so awkward this morning and was glad she chose to sit as far away from Seymour as she could. He had noticed the quick, nervous glances she kept making to the front of the car where Seymour and Wakka were sitting as well as the glances Seymour had given her.

A short while later, they arrived at Besaid Airport. After getting their boarding passes, they had gone to the food court to get some drinks and muffins. Rikku and Gippal had gone off to a table by themselves and Wakka had dragged Lulu and Seymour off to another table so Tidus and Yuna sat at a table together.

"Yuna, are you still thinking about last night?" asked Tidus. He took a sip of hot chocolate then a bite of blueberry muffin.

Yuna's heart nearly jumped to her throat. She hadn't expected him to know what was on her mind. But then again, maybe she should have known he'd know because he was the one who told her about Seymour in the first place. Yuna nodded slowly.

He reached out and placed his hand on hers, "Don't let it bother you too much. I'll keep an eye on him, I promise."

Yuna looked up and saw his cobalt blue eyes staring right back at her bi-coloured ones. She smiled at him, "Thank you."

Not long after they finished their drinks and muffins, Seymour walked over and announced that they needed to head over to the departure gates now.

"This tickets for you, and you, and that's your's, this one's Yuna's and this one's mine. And this ones for you," said Seymour, shoving Tidus' boarding pass to him a lot harder and ruder than ever necessary.

Yuna frowned and gently pulled on Tidus' arm, guiding him toward the lady who was checking everyone's boarding passes. They stood in line and examined each other's tickets. Yuna was sitting in the opposite aisle and a row in front of Tidus.

"Lulu, Wakka, Rikku, Gippal, can I see your boarding passes?" asked Yuna. They handed their passes to her.

She examined the seat numbers since there weren't names on them. Yuna didn't know who she was sitting with but Wakka and Lulu were beside them, Rikku and Gippal were sitting behind her and Tidus was left to sit by himself. Yuna felt a pang of nervousness inside her. She knew who that someone else was: Seymour. She turned around and walked towards Seymour, purposely bumping into him.

"Sorry."

Seymour smiled, "It's alright Yuna, no worries."

She helped him collect his belongings and went back in line next to Tidus. She handed everyone back their tickets. Soon, everyone boarded the plane and began finding their seats.

Yuna pulled Tidus aside, "I swapped your ticket with Seymour's. You're sitting with me now."

A wide grin spread across his face. They checked the numbers on the aisle and found their seats quickly.

"Ahem," said Seymour, clearing his throat. "you're in _my_ seat."

"No I'm not. Look," replied Tidus', showing his ticket to Seymour.

"But-" Seymour stuttered, looking dumbfounded and checking his own ticket, then Tidus'.

"Sir, do you need help finding your seat?" asked a stewardess politely.

"No," muttered Seymour through gritted teeth. He walked over to his seat and sat down, fuming.

Yuna and Tidus giggled quietly to themselves. Soon, the safety announcements were over and the plane began moving. Everyone buckled their seatbelts and sat in silence. The roaring of the engines could be heard and with a great spurt of speed, they took off into the air. Yuna looked out the window at the city of Besaid. She wouldn't be seeing this place again for quite a while so she took a good, long look at the luscious trees and abundant buildings that were all so familiar to her. Slowly, the big city of Besaid turned into tiny dots then vanished completely beneath the thick white clouds.

"What would you two like to drink?" asked a stewardess with the drink trolley several minutes later.

"Lemonade please," replied Tidus.

"Just waters fine," said Yuna with a pleasant smile.

The stewardess handed them their drinks, packets of mixed snacks, and some newspapers. Tidus opened the newspaper to the comics section and began reading them with Yuna. Every once in a while they broke into laughter, which made Seymour twitch in his seat. Nobody noticed that he was reading his newspaper upside down or the fact that he was actually spying on Tidus and Yuna. Seeing them together was making his blood boil and oblivious that he was crumpling up his newspaper with every twitch.

_"Passengers, please fasten your seatbelts in preparation for landing..."_

The plane landed smoothly and everyone began collecting their belongings. Still fuming, Seymour followed everyone else towards the exit, handing the stewardess a ripped and crumpled copy of newspaper on the way out. It was a blazing day in Kilika and everyone sported shorts and tees or tank tops. Seymour felt rather out of place in his moss green dress shirt and black pants, not to mention feeling the heat a lot more than anyone else. He spotted Yuna and Tidus waiting for the limo he had ordered to come pick them up and walked towards them. Seymour scoffed at Tidus' attire. Tidus was wearing a white t-shirt with a blue logo and crème coloured shorts.

"Being the expert traveler now is he?" he muttered to himself as he unbuttoned the first two buttons of his shirt.

Before he could reach them however, Lulu, Wakka, Rikku, and Gippal came out of nowhere and overtook him. He noticed that they had also worn shorts and t-shirts; even Lulu, who usually wore long, sweater type dresses. He grunted and continued walking toward the white limo that had now arrived. He picked up his pace, hoping he'd be able to sit next to Yuna but saw her disappear behind a closing car door. Reluctantly, he got into the front seat with the driver and instructed him to go the the 'Kilika Inn'. Soon, the driver pulled up next to the grand hotel and an excited bellboy came over to unload their baggage's, taking extra care when he was handling Yuna's. Seymour was left to deal with the situation since everyone piled inside 'The Frosty Drink House' to get some of Kilika's famous ice cold drinks to cool down. He walked inside the hotel and towards the front desk.

"I have a few rooms booked under 'Seymour'," he said as he rolled up his sleeves.

"Yes, its right here. But I'm sorry to inform you we had a little problem with our computer so the rooms got mixed up a little," said the receptionist, her fingers typing hastily on the keyboard. "We are one room short from what you requested. I have a room for Miss. Yuna and Rikku, one for Mrs. Lulu and Mr. Wakka, but I only have one room left for Mr. Tidus, Gippal, and Seymour."

Seymour scowled, "What is the meaning of this? I demand a room for myself."

"I'm terribly sorry but we do not have an empty room until four days later," apologized the young lady.

"Give me the key cards," he seethed through gritted teeth, snatching the keys from the brunette and cursing under his breath.

He turned around and saw the rest of the company heading his way with drinks in their hands. He smiled for a second then his expression turned dark. He had seen Yuna walking behind everyone else and she looked absolute radiant in her white tank top and sky blue mini skirt, but when Wakka moved aside to let someone pass through, he saw that of all people, Tidus was with her. She barely even acknowledged his presence when she walked by him to the elevator. He followed everyone else into the spacious elevator and handed out the key cards. Tidus wasn't exactly thrilled when he found out he would be sharing a room with Seymour but Gippal seemed ecstatic that he'd be having two roommates. Yuna's room was across from Tidus' and next to Lulu's. While Rikku fumbled with the card, Yuna gave Tidus a sympathetic pat on his arm, one which Seymour caught from the corner of his eye. He threw open the door and tossed his luggage beside the table. A sinking feeling formed inside him. It was only the first day and already he was losing the war to Tidus.

* * *

And that was chapter 6. I hope you all liked it and please, please, please, review! If I get at least 8 reviews before next Friday, I will write faster and update sooner once again. :) 


	7. Lovers at The Kilikan Island

A/N: Hey everyone! Thanks soo much for all your reviews. Those of you who took the time to give me feed back, I just want to tell you how much I appreciate it. You guys are the absolute best! Its also because of you guys that this chapter got posted so fast. This chapter is also my longest one so far. It isn't big on Seymour torture like my last one. It focuses more on Tidus and Yuna. However, my next one will be. Enjoy!

* * *

Everyone was getting settled into their rooms and taking a brief break from the plane ride. Rikku plopped down on a bed and kicked off her shoes while Yuna began unpacked her bags on the bed next to her's. 

"Ahh, that feels nice," sighed Rikku, sipping her orange sherbet slush through a colourful straw. "Yunie, you should come join me. We'll be spending two days here, there'll be plenty of time to unpack."

Yuna pushed the wooden drawer back into place and went to sit with her best friend. Rikku smiled and moved over to make room for her cousin. Yuna took a seat and tossed her head back, causing her brown hair to slide off her shoulders. She picked up her oreo ice cream drink and was about to began sipping it when there was a knock on the door.

"Who is it?" called Rikku, slightly annoyed at the disturbance.

"It's me ya," came the unmistakable voice of Wakka. "You guys ready yet? We're going to the beach now so hurry up."

"Coming," replied Yuna. She slipped on her green flip flops and grabbed her tube of sunscreen.

"I'll get us towels," said Rikku as she headed into the bathroom.

Once they got everything they needed into their straw beach-bag, Rikku headed over to Wakka's room. Yuna shut the door behind them and turned to face the room directly across from their's. She took a few steps forward and gave the door three soft knocks. The door opened to reveal Tidus, who smiled at her.

"Hey Yuna," he said cheerfully to her.

"I just wanted to make sure you know we're all going down to the beach now," said Yuna happily.

"Yeah, Wakka just came by not too long ago. We're just about ready to go; just waiting for Gippal," Tidus replied, pointing to the bathroom door.

Yuna held out her bottle of sunscreen, "Wouldn't want to get sun burned out there now would you?"

"Thanks," smiled Tidus, taking the bottle and rubbing its contents on any skin that will be exposed to the sun.

The bathroom door swung open and Gippal stepped out. He saw Yuna and dramatically striked a pose for her, pretending to be Superman. Yuna laughed but it died when she saw Seymour walking towards them. He had decided to change his clothes and was now wearing a gray t-shirt and brown shorts. Tidus quickly stepped out into the hall, letting the door shut behind him then grabbed Yuna's hand and started speed walking towards the elevator.

"Thanks," said Yuna, who was blushing slightly from being caught off guard.

"No problem. Remember, I promised to keep an eye on him as well as away from you," replied Tidus with a grin.

They smiled at each other and rode the elevator down in silence, unaware that they were still holding hands. A few seconds later, the shiny metal doors slid open and they walked across the lobby toward the sliding glass doors that led outside. The sun was partially concealed behind a thin sheet of cloud, cooling Kilika a few degrees. Yuna started sipping her rapidly melting ice cream drink again as they headed to the beach.

"Hey!" Rikku shouted from behind them.

They turned around and saw Rikku running towards them, her beach-bag swinging wildly on her arm. Lulu and Wakka were walking at a leisurely pace. Lulu was carrying an ice box and Wakka had a huge umbrella slunk over his shoulder. Yuna raised her left hand to wave at them and noticed Tidus' hand was holding it.

"Sorry," Tidus apologized, blushing as he pulled his hand away.

Yuna shook her head, her cheeks turning bright red, "It's not your fault, you were only helping me."

"Yunie, I thought you said we'd meet in Wakka's room," pouted Rikku when she reached them.

"Sorry," said Yuna with an apologetic grin.

Rikku threw down her straw bag and took out a towel, spreading it out on the sand and sitting on it. Yuna took a seat next to her best friend. She knew Rikku was a bit mad at her for ditching her at the hotel. That was when she remembered she hadn't told Rikku about Seymour yet. Lulu and Wakka finally reached them and Tidus went to help him set up the umbrella.

"Rikku, I want to talk to you," said Yuna. She got up and held out her hand.

Rikku accepted her offer and Yuna helped her up. They strolled a little distance away from the rest of the group then Yuna pulled Rikku to a more private place behind a few palm trees, where she told her everything she learned about Seymour.

Rikku's eyes widened, "Are you serious? That's soo creepy!"

Yuna nodded, "Don't tell anyone though. I don't know what Seymour will do to Tidus if he found out about any of this."

Rikku nodded and pulled her fingers across her lips, as if closing an imaginary zipper. She gave her best friend a hug; an apology for getting mad at her. Together, they walked back to the gang, arms around each others shoulders, joking and laughing. The beach in Kilika had opened only a year ago and it was making the tourist businesses there boom like crazy. Because of this, the beach was very crowded, mainly with younger people who were either playing volleyball or swimming in the crystal clear water. It was also because of this that Yuna had much difficulty trying to make her way through the throng of fans who were encircling her.

"Yuna! I'm a major fan! Can you please sign this?" screamed an excited red haired girl who was waving a notepad and pen wildly in Yuna's face.

"Sorry, coming through, make way please!" Rikku hollered above the din. She had her arms out in front of Yuna, trying to keep some distance between her cousin and the crazed fans.

"Excuse me!" came a blatant voice. "Miss Yuna would like some privacy please!"

The crowd looked around, trying to identify who the voice belonged to. A few seconds later, Seymour pushed through the masses of people and stood next to Yuna, holding out his hand to keep them back and led her back to where Lulu was. Yuna gave him a small smile and he returned it. She was glad Seymour arrived when he did and also for the fact that she had her publicist with her. She looked around for Tidus and spotted him in the water. While Seymour got dragged off by Wakka to get more ice for the ice box, Yuna and Rikku pulled off their shirts and sarongs. Yuna was sporting a forest green, floral print bikini top and boy-short bottoms and Rikku had on a lemon yellow bikini. After loading up on waterproof sunscreen, they both hit the water.

"Gippal!" called Rikku, giving him a shove from behind which caused him to fall face first into the ocean.

Tidus laughed but it hastily turned into a yelp when Gippal reached out and pulled him by the ankle, making Tidus fall down bottom first. He got hold of Yuna's arm before going down, which made her topple on top of him as well as blushing a deep shade of red. Rikku chortled at them but Gippal seized her hand and tugged her into the water as well. After a few hours of fun in the sun, everyone retired back to their rooms to wash up and get ready for dinner. Seymour had arranged for them to go to 'The Kilikan Island', which was a very popular restaurant on the island. It was also considered to be on the high-end of fine dining.

"Yunie, this one or this one?" asked Rikku. She held up a pine coloured, loose-fit long sleeved dress, then a beaded, purple skirt and a crème coloured slightly off-the-shoulder t-shirt.

"Hmm, I think the skirt and cotton top," replied her best friend, who had just walked out from the shower in a white bathrobe and towel in her hair.

Yuna opened the bottom drawer and pulled out a lavender, sleeveless dress. She threw it on and began working on her hair while Rikku tried to match a few bracelets to her skirt. Half an hour later, two gorgeous ladies posed in front of the mirror, adding the final touches to their looks. A knock sounded on the wooden door.

"Yuna, you ready?" came Tidus' voice.

Yuna opened the door, "Yup. Rikku and I are both ready."

Tidus stared in awe. Yuna looked absolutely stunning in her knee-high, v-neck dress. Her hair was set into elegant tousled curls and a silver heart pendant hung from her neck. A pair of pink kitten heeled slippers added the final touches to her evening attire. Tidus was wearing a blue dress shirt with the sleeves rolled up and black khakis. He held out his arm. Yuna beamed at him and placed her hand on his inner arm.

"You guys go ahead first, I'll wait for Gippal," said Rikku with a mischievous grin.

Yuna and Tidus departed and sat at the very back of the black limo waiting for them at the entrance. Wakka and Lulu joined them shortly. Wakka had on a beige shirt and pants and Lulu wore a black t-shirt dress. A few minutes later, Rikku and Gippal arrived as well. Rikku had left her short, blonde hair down and a few colourful bracelets clinked lightly at her wrist. Gippal had thrown on a maroon polo shirt and black pants. The only person left was Seymour.

"Where is he?" asked Lulu, checking the silver Rolex watch that Yuna had given to her for her birthday, which indicated that they had been waiting for twenty minutes.

Wakka grabbed his cell phone and dialed the hotel number, asking for room 629. He hung up after a few minutes and turned to the rest of the group, "He said he ain't coming. Something about his head hurting or something like that. So we're to go without him ya."

Nobody acted too concerned for Seymour. In fact, everyone was nonchalant about it because they were too busy recounting that days activities with one another. The driver soon pulled up beside 'The Kilikan Island' and they all piled out. The evening air was still humid although the orangey sun was barely visible on the horizon. Yuna stood for a moment, her breath caught in her throat as she gazed at the beautiful sunset. It was a different kind of sunset, one you can't experience in Besaid or anywhere else, and it gave her a sense of peace and serenity. Tidus gently place a hand on her shoulder. Yuna turned around and smiled at him then followed the rest of the gang up a short flight of steps.

"We only have tables up to a maximum of four, sorry for the inconvenience," said the dark haired waitress.

"Well, how 'bout me and Wakka go off to a table and you four can share a table," suggested Lulu.

So they went their separate ways to their tables. Yuna and Rikku sat next to each other and across from Tidus and Gippal. The atmosphere was very romantic. There were lit candles set at each table, the lights were dimmed and a soft tune was playing in the background. A waitress came to their table shortly after they got seated and they placed their orders. Yuna sat back and looked around the restaurant. Although the diner wasn't very spacious, it didn't give anyone a feeling of being crammed in at all. The high ceiling was made of wood that had been spray painted in a way that made it look patchy yet interesting to examine. The sand coloured walls were partially hidden by dried vines that reached towards the ceiling where a giant chandelier hung. The eatery was split into two floors by two sets of stairs, so half of the restaurant was raised up more than the other half in the shape of a ying yang. All the tables were positioned along the wall and around the middle of the circular building. In the very center was a bar and the kitchen was right behind it underneath the raised area.

"Here you are, two lover's meals," announced the waitress when she arrived with their food.

"We didn't order the lover's meal," replied Tidus.

She checked the receipts, "I'm terribly sorry about the mix up. If you don't mind, I'll tell the chef to remake your order."

"No, it's ok," Tidus and Yuna said at the same time.

"We'll just stick with what we have," said Yuna, trying with all her might to fight back a blush that threatened to invade her face.

"To make up for it, your dinner tonight will be on the house. I'm very sorry" apologized the waitress before scurrying off to help another customer.

Gippal snickered, "I guess you two have to share that _lover's_ meal while Rikku and I share this one."

Yuna and Tidus both blushed but Gippal didn't notice since their surroundings were shadowy. The lover's meal consisted of three courses and two glasses of passion fruit smoothies. The first was the appetizer: foccacia cheese toast. Next came the main course, which were heart shaped prime ribs. Finally, the dessert were heart shaped lava cakes. After an hour of chatting and indulging in delicious food, they got up and left. The night air was breezy yet pleasant and there were countless stars in the dark sky. Yuna gazed up at the twinkling dots. She still remembered what her father had told her many years ago. Just like in her dream.

"Yuna," said Tidus softly.

She turned around and saw that the limo had came to pick them up. Smiling, she ducked her head and stepped inside with Tidus following behind. When they arrived back at the hotel, Yuna and Tidus walked back upstairs together. They stopped outside their rooms and bid each other goodnight before turning in. Yuna plopped down on her bed in her star patterned PJ's and threw the covers over her legs, recounting her first day of vacation. A smile spread across her lips. She was glad Seymour hadn't been there or their evening wouldn't have been as enjoyable. There definitely wouldn't have been a second lover's meal. She rolled over onto her stomach and rested her head on the pillow. She still couldn't believe that she had just shared a lover's meal with the guy she was falling for. A warm, fuzzy feeling filled her whole body and she smiled lightly before falling into a pleasant slumber.

* * *

And that was chapter 7. Aren't you curious about what _really_ happened to Seymour? Please, please, please, please, please review! I won't update until I get at least 10 reviews. Till next chapter:) 


	8. Hairdos and Camouflaging

A/N: Hey everyone! Thank you soo much to all the reviews! You guys are so awesome and wonderful and simply amazing! 17 reviews for one chapter, I've never had that many before! I've been having a bit of a writers block, thats why this chapter was posted a tad later then the last two. But with my exams coming up in two weeks, I'm afraid the next chapter will also be a bit delayed. Anyways, I won't keep you from this chapter any longer. Enjoy!

* * *

A pair of deep blue eyes opened slowly. The bright morning sun was seeking a way to peek through the thick curtains while various birds chirped soundly outside. The owner of the eyes turned his head to the right to discover a snoring Gippal and a rather grumpy looking Seymour, who had the covers over his head so only his face was exposed. Tidus checked the clock, 8:30. He sat up and found himself facing a painting of 'The Kilikan Island'. A smile played across his lips as he recounted last nights dinner. He could still picture how shy she looked when she agreed that remaking their order wasn't necessary. After that, she had been quieter than usual and she barely looked up to face him all night. A grunt from the bed in the middle broke his train of thought. Gippal rolled over but continue to sleep. Tidus got up as quietly as he could and began washing up. 

Not long after, a second person began to stir. She stretched in her bed then got up to look outside through the partially opened curtains. The beach was filled with people of all ages today. Yuna slid open the glass door to let in some fresh air. The heat wave hit her like a frying pan and she quickly shut the door. It was no wonder practically everyone in Kilika had gone to the beach so early; Kilika was a replica of an oven set to max. She turned around and found Rikku studying her with one eye open.

"Morning Rikku," said Yuna heartily.

She sat up, "Good morning. So what are we doing today?"

"We're going to visit the temple here. It's on the other side of the forest," replied Yuna as she grabbed some fresh laundry. "I'm gonna go wash up now."

As soon as the bathroom door closed, Rikku flew across the hall and knocked on the door opposite theirs. Gippal answered the door promptly. She threw her arms around him and nearly knocked him to the floor.

"Whoa!" exclaimed a surprised Gippal. Then he began to chuckle lightly, "Hey there Rikku."

"Do you_ mind_?" came an extremely annoyed voice.

Rikku looked over her boyfriend's shoulder and discovered Seymour standing behind him with the covers over his hair.

"What's with the blanket dude? It's at least fifty degrees out," asked Gippal.

Seymour scowled, "That's _my_ business so keep your nose _out_ of it."

Gippal shrugged but when he walked back inside with Rikku, he conveniently tripped Seymour along the way, causing his blanket to fly across the room. Seymour quickly ducked his head under the bed but hit the bed frame instead and he quickly pulled it back out, rubbing his head. Rikku and Gippal erupted into hysterical laughter. They had just discovered the real reason behind his mysterious head ache the night before. Seymour's hair was permed and now, he had an afro and the front of his hair resembled something like Wakka's banana one except ten times puffier and curlier. He had accidentally bought a bottle of perming solution instead of gel the day before when he went off with Wakka to get more ice.

"Oh, I'm gonna get a stomach ache soon," cried Rikku, who was holding onto a table for support to keep herself from falling to the floor with laughter.

Gippal, on the other hand, was already rolling around on the floor, chortling. Seymour turned five different shades of red. He retrieved the blanket and dashed into the bathroom the moment Tidus came out.

"What just happened?" asked a confused Tidus.

Rikku and Gippal just continued laughing. An hour later, everybody was up and ready to go sight seeing. Seymour had managed to fix his hair but Rikku and Gippal would burst into fits of giggles each time they saw him. Nobody really knew why they were acting that way but no one bothered asking anymore considering they would just burst into laughter each time someone tried. They went to a nearby café for breakfast. Yuna, Rikku, and Gippal ordered grilled cheese sandwiches and iced cappuccinos. Tidus, Wakka, and Lulu got sausages and waffles with Kilika's famous shaved ice drinks. Seymour had bacon and eggs with coffee. After they finished, they took a boat that traveled down the middle of Kilika to the entrance of the forest.

"Ooh! Check out the cute monkeys!" exclaimed Rikku. She pulled out her digital camera and began taking pictures of everything around them.

"The forest is so beautiful," said Yuna as she took in the scenery around her.

"Sure is," agreed Tidus.

He looked over at Yuna. Her every move was so graceful, like a swan or a ballerina. A soft smile appeared at his lips. Yuna's beauty seemed to radiate off of her. To him, she looked like a lost princess who was trying to find her way in the woods. These thoughts were interrupted when Tidus noticed Seymour trying to get away from Wakka and catch up to Yuna. He grabbed Yuna's hand and started weaving his way through the throng of tourists in front of them. Once he felt they were far enough away from the rest of the group, he turned around to check if Seymour was behind them. Much to his relief, no one familiar was in sight. He turned to face Yuna.

"Seymour," they both said at the same time.

They grinned at each other. Tidus and Yuna had run so far that they had already reached the temple. A little ice cream shop was positioned off to one side. After all that running, the prospect of ice cream was very welcoming. Yuna got strawberry swirl and Tidus got vanilla. Together, they ate their ice cream beneath the shade of a large palm tree, joking and laughing. A while later, the rest of the gang caught up to them.

"Yo! What gives ya?" panted Wakka. He wiped his forehead with the back of his hand.

"Sorry," said Yuna as she scooped the last of her ice cream and put it in her mouth, "We just couldn't stand it in the heat anymore."

"Well, you should have dragged me along too," said an irritated Gippal, who was eyeing their empty ice cream containers jealously.

"Gippal, stop being such a child. I'll get us some ice cream," retorted Rikku.

She gave Yuna an understanding grin before skipping off with Gippal towards the ice cream parlor.

"I want some too ya!" called Wakka.

Rikku returned shortly with four cups of ice cream. She got Lulu raspberry twirl, Wakka caramel vanilla, mint chocolate chip for Gippal, and chocolate for herself. Seymour cleared his throat loudly. Everyone detached themselves from their ice creams to look at him.

"Oh, uh...I ran out of change," said Rikku slowly, trying to think of a logical excuse for excluding Seymour from their feast.

Yuna forced herself to suppress the giggle that was threatening to burst out of her. She knew why Rikku had purposely chose not to get Seymour some ice cream. Rikku had made Seymour officially on her enemy list. Tidus turned to face Yuna. They exchanged smiles that told each other they both understood the whole situation perfectly.

"Alright everyone. Into the temple now," said Wakka energetically.

Gippal crumpled his paper cup and tossed it into a nearby garbage can, missing it by a foot. He hung his head in false disappointment. As Yuna and Tidus strolled past him, Tidus gave him a pat on the back. Lulu and Wakka walked by without paying much attention to the well known clown among the group and Rikku yanked on his arm to get him to come along with her. Seymour just kinda trailed behind everyone else, his expression dark and stormy.

Kilika Temple was the same as it had always been, with it's massive stone walls covered in moss and fires that were lit here and there. Since the temple was fairly old, the ventilation wasn't the best, making the interior quite stuffy. Once again, Seymour was suffering the most. He had chosen to wear dark coloured clothing, making him absorb the heat waves like crazy. Yuna and Rikku were the breeziest ones out of the group. They had both worn tank tops and mini skirts.

"There's the door to the chamber of the fayth," said Lulu, pointing a finger at the wooden door.

They all advanced inside the circular room. The very centre of the floor had a round piece of convex glass encasing a figure of the aeon, Ifrit. Rikku's camera began clicking away at the stoned sculpture and the various people around them. An hour later, they all emerged from the temple of fire, tiny beads of perspiration still clinging to their foreheads. Seymour, on the other hand, was sweating like he'd just run a marathon.

"Now that we're done with the temple, what next?" said Rikku as she checked the pictures on her camera.

"I know!" exclaimed Gippal excitedly, "We could play the new camouflage game they have here!"

"You mean the one where we hide in the forest and one person tries to catch the each others?" asked Wakka.

"Yeah. It'll be so much fun you guys. It's like hide and seek but not quite," said Gippal with a wide grin.

"Sounds interesting. Let's play," Seymour put in.

Everyone turned to look at him with a taken back expression. They had never expected Seymour to want to have anything to do with this idea. He would have normally said such games were childish and that he wouldn't even think about participating in it. Seymour had always come across as the severely serious and strict kind of person; perhaps something along the lines of a fun hater.

"Then let's do it," said Gippal energetically.

They all trekked back along the path to the temple and entered a little hut off to the side of the road. They all got changed into military style clothes that camouflaged them entirely in the woods. Seymour offered to become the predator which meant the rest of the group had to avoid him. If someone got caught, they were taken back to his jail and had to stay there until someone else came to rescue them. Seymour was equipped with a water gun, which he would use to spray them with. Whoever gets wet will be considered captured. However, if someone manages to scare the living day lights out of the predator, the game is over and Seymour would be the loser.

"I'll give a minute for everyone to hide," said Seymour as he turned around and covered his eyes.

As everyone began frantically running for cover, a malicious grin formed on Seymour's lips. The only reason he wanted to play this game and become the predator was because he wanted to look manly in front of Yuna. He didn't care about the rest of the gang. His main goal was to capture Tidus. If he succeeded, it'll show Yuna who the real man was and even out the score between him and Tidus. He turned around and began walking slowly, trying to be as quiet as he possibly could.

"Yuna!" whispered Tidus as loudly as he could without letting anyone else hear him.

She looked around her. He was so well blended into their surroundings that Yuna had a lot of difficulty spotting him. Finally, after much squinting, Tidus reached out and pulled her behind a thick bush where he was hiding. The bush was so thick and large that it hid the two of them with ease. They made themselves comfortable then sat as still as they could, listening for anyone approaching them. The leaves on the trees rustled gently in the light breeze and the lake rippled as if an invisible person was dancing upon it. The wind also brought a brief moment of relief for Yuna and Tidus. Hiding beneath the bush felt like a steaming sauna.

Seymour stopped on the stone bridge and peered around the forest. So far, he had no luck finding Tidus. He had seen Wakka a few times but it wasn't too hard considering he had flaming banana hair. He began walking again, taking a left turn back into the woods. Without warning, a monkey jumped out at him, startling him and causing him to fall flat on his back. After cursing under his breath, he picked himself up and walked a few paces. He stopped directly in front of the bush Tidus and Yuna were hiding in and rubbed his aching back. They held their breaths, hoping Seymour won't notice them.

Suddenly, Gippal came out of nowhere, "BOOOO!"

Seymour jumped and hollered very loudly. He began running away as fast as he could, tripping on tree roots and slipping on twigs and leaves along the way. Gippal keeled over, laughing his head off. Yuna couldn't help but smile at the scene before her. Tidus helped Yuna out from under the plant. Gippal had done it. They had won and Seymour had lost.

"Wow, I never knew Seymour was such a scaredy-cat," snorted Gippal, feeling very pleased with himself.

Tidus nodded and smiled at Yuna, who returned the smile. After informing the rest of the group that they had won, they went to a very well known BBQ restaurant and feasted on chicken wings, steaks, burgers, ribs, and shish kebob. By the time they had finished eating and Seymour had subsided a little bit from his fuming, they returned to their rooms. Yuna, Tidus, and Gippal laid awake in their beds for hours, laughing quietly to themselves as they recalled what they witnessed earlier in the woods. Seymour on the other hand, stayed awake for hours, fuming from embarrassment and anger for his losing streak. He had blown his chance to even out the score, which was now 2-0.

* * *

And that was chapter 8. I hope you all liked it and please, please, please review! You guys have been so good with them so you know what I want; at least 10 reviews! I will update as soon as I possibly can. Till next chapter :) oh and for the previous chapter, no I have never had a lovers meal before :P 


	9. Guado Day

A/N: Hey everyone! Thanks so much for the reviews! You're all such wonderful people! I swear some of you have the sixth sense too... This chapter and especially the next one has stuff a lot of people have been looking forward to. After that, comes some unexpected things... But here's this chapter first. Enjoy!

* * *

After breakfast the following morning, the group of seven all took the plane to Guadosalam. Seymour's house was there and he would be holding a dance that night to celebrate the festival of Guado Day. When they arrived in Guadosalam, they made themselves at home in Seymour's spacious house. They lounged around for a few hours, getting settled and taking a look around his house. Then they took a tour around Guadosalam. Many Guado's offered them baked goods and requested autographs from Yuna, which she gave happily. During this time, many Guado's started flocking back home from various places around Spira to get ready to celebrate this festival. By tradition, this festival was only celebrated during the night for two days. Guado Day also marks the day Guadosalam was created. 

The Farplane was a whole other experience; especially for Yuna. She had never come here to see her parents after their accident fourteen years ago. Seymour wasn't with them because he needed to take care of some Guado affairs since he had been away for such a long time. Although Seymour is the leader of the Guado's, Tromell had been the one looking after Guadosalam each time Seymour had to leave.

The group arrived at the Farplane and Rikku and Gippal walked off to one side together while Yuna, Lulu, and Wakka went off in the opposite direction. Yuna stepped slowly to the edge of the platform, _Mom, Dad. It's me, Yuna._

Pyreflies began collecting at a point in front of her and they began spiraling upward until finally taking form as her parents. Tears filled her eyes as she looked at the figures before her, who were so familiar yet so foreign. Lulu came up from behind and squeezed her hand. Yuna smiled at her and Wakka, who placed a comforting hand on her shoulder. Tidus watched the whole scene from a distance. He had no one to visit at the Farplane since both his parents were still alive. He had never experienced grief and sorrow over the death of a loved one, but seeing Yuna, Lulu, and Wakka standing there with their arms around each other made him feel some of their sadness.

"I'm sorry I didn't come visit earlier," Yuna said gently. "Lulu and Wakka have been taking care of me very well. I've also been working hard and am now a songstress."

"We're both very proud of her. Braska, Lianne, you would be too..." said Lulu softly before turning her head away.

Wakka placed his other hand on her shoulder and gave it a comforting squeeze. Lulu nodded but didn't look up. Yuna squeezed Lulu's hand, which was still lightly around her own. She turned to smile weakly at Yuna.

"Yuna's very well known in Spira, ya? But she's taking a break right now to enjoy herself with us," concluded Wakka.

Tidus looked away from the three of them and found himself staring at Rikku and Gippal, who were both speaking with her mother. Although Rikku had never spoken much about her family, he knew that her father was the leader of the Al Bhed, Cid. But he never knew that her mother had passed away. Rikku, on the contrary, was the exact opposite of what Yuna and Lulu were. She was talking to her mother happily whereas the other two were quiet and wistful. Tidus walked over to an edge away from everyone else and gazed out at the waterfall. He felt like he didn't belong here. Everyone had someone to visit and talk to but he didn't.

"Tidus," called Yuna.

He turned around and found her standing a few feet behind him. She smiled at him and he smiled back at her, though his wasn't very convincing.

"What's wrong?" asked Yuna, walking up next to him.

"Nothing. I guess it's just, you know, the atmosphere here," replied Tidus. He continued to stare at the splashing water.

Yuna followed his gaze to the waterfall and nodded lightly. After Rikku finished speaking with her mother, they stopped at a café to have lunch. The tiny café was fairly empty since most of the people were busy doing last minute shopping and preparations for the festival. Everyone wanted to look their best that evening. The six of them had a reasonably light lunch. Yuna and Rikku split a lunch size cheese ravioli, Tidus ordered a caesar salad, and Gippal, Wakka, and Lulu shared a medium pepperoni pizza.

"So Rikku, what did you talk to your mom about?" asked Yuna as she took a bite of her stuffed pasta.

"About you being famous, us living together in a nice house, and what a blast I'm having on this vacation," replied Rikku cheerily. "How about you Yunie?"

Yuna smiled lightly back her best friend but said nothing. She was glad Rikku was having such a good time. But then again, as long as she was with Gippal she would always have a good time, even if they went to a landfill. Yuna looked around the table at her friends and stopped when she reached the person sitting next to her. Tidus was looking at her.

"You alright?" he asked, his voice full of concern.

"Yes, I'm fine. It's just..." she set down her fork and placed her hands in her lap. "It felt like I was talking to strangers, not someone I was really familiar with. They're my parents, the people who have know me since I was born. I know it's been a long time since I last saw them, but I felt as if we just met."

Tidus placed a hand on her shoulder, "Yuna..."

She gave him a small smile, "But I'm fine, really."

Yuna resumed back to eating her ravioli and chatting with Rikku. Tidus began finishing off his salad as well while Gippal and Wakka were fighting each other for the last slice of pizza. After a few minutes of struggling, Gippal came out victorious. He began dancing on his chair but slipped and ended up dropping the pizza on the dusty floor. He scowled and dusted himself off while Wakka laughed so hard he nearly had a stomach ache. Everybody else laughed along too, though nowhere near as wild as Wakka, and all Gippal did was stare sadly at the piece of pepperoni pizza that the store keeper was now cleaning up.

After finishing their lunches, they returned back to Seymour's home and began decorating the place for the dance that evening.

"This is going to be _soo_ awesome," Rikku said excitedly, who was setting out refreshments on the table with Yuna.

Yuna nodded, "We're even gonna have a real live band playing on stage."

"That's right, I've hired the famous Orchestra Musicians to come here tonight," said Seymour as he entered the room.

"Here they are now!" cried Rikku, pointing her finger at the group that was entering with their instruments.

As the orchestra was getting set up, the seven of them went to change into their formal wear. Yuna threw on a sparkly, black, strapless dress. The bottom portion of the dress was cut at an angle so that the back part went down to her ankles but the front went to just below her knees. She put on a necklace that had a large silver, seashell pendant hanging from it and a silver charm bracelet. Her chestnut hair was set into loose waves and a pair of black, beaded high heels completed her look. Rikku was wearing a midnight-blue dress that went down to her calves. She tied her curled blonde hair up in a ponytail and put on a chunky silver bracelet that had her name engraved in it. A pair of sequenced Indian slippers finished her attire for that evening.

By the time everyone finished changing, Seymour's dance had already begun. Yuna and Rikku slipped into the semi crowded room and began looking around for the rest of the gang. The room was fairly dark except for the disco ball rotating slowly in the middle of the ceiling. They spotted Lulu and Wakka dancing near the opposite wall. Lulu looked fabulous in her black, satin dress that cut off past her feet so that you couldn't see her shoes. Rikku pondered for a moment on how Lulu managed not to step on her dress, but someone with flaming banana hair diverted her attention. Wakka was wearing a black tuxedo, white dress shirt, and a bow tie. Rikku's jaw dropped. Nobody had ever seen Wakka so dressed up before, the only exception being when he was getting married with Lulu several years back.

"Yuna," called Tidus.

Yuna turned and saw Tidus walking towards her. He too, was wearing a black tuxedo, white dress shirt, and bow tie.

"Would this lovely lady care to dance with me?" asked Tidus, holding out his hand.

The lightening was dim, and as Yuna smiled at him, they cast a soft glow onto her glossy lips, making her look more beautiful than she already was. She placed her hand in his and he led her towards the dance floor. The orchestra began playing a slow song, so they assumed closed position and started stepping in time with the music.

"You look lovely tonight," said Tidus softly.

"Thank you. And you look very handsome," replied Yuna equally as soft so that even the people dancing next to them couldn't hear.

She looked over his shoulder at the people around them. The dance floor was now fairly crowded with all sorts of people from every age group and gender. Tidus stepped a little away from Yuna as he was doing his box-step of the fox trot to allow her room to spin. She spun gracefully and when she recovered from the spin, she found herself a lot closer to Tidus then she had begun with. Yuna looked away, hoping no one would notice her blushing. She wasn't paying attention to how she was dancing anymore and while she was distracted, she accidentally tripped on someone's foot. She stumbled backwards but before she could make contact with the floor, Tidus caught her. He was bent over her with his hands on her back and she had her hands around his neck. As Yuna looked up at him, she felt her heart give a big leap.

"Are you alright?" asked Tidus as he brought her back to her feet.

"Yeah, I'm alright," replied Yuna. A heavy blush was invading her face and she felt positive that she was blushing harder than she ever had in her entire life.

He walked her across the dance floor where she took a seat on one of the many red, velvet chairs set up against the wall.

"I'll go get you something to drink," said Tidus before disappearing into the crowd towards the refreshment table.

He returned shortly with a glass of fruit punch. She accepted it and took a sip from the cup. The orchestra was now playing a more lively tune and everyone started dancing quicker. A laughing Rikku and Gippal boogied by them, cutting a wide path where they were heading. Infact, they were dancing so energetically that people actually moved away from the couple when they saw them heading in their direction for fear of injury. A moment later, Lulu and Wakka waltzed by them, looking like professionals in a dance competition. Tidus took a seat next to Yuna and stared out at the sea of people. It seemed as if everyone in the neighbouring towns and cities had also showed up to join in the fun, not only the Guado. But someone was missing...

_I wonder where Seymour is_, Tidus thought to himself.

His question was answered almost instantaneously, for at that moment, a light illuminated a figure on the stage where the musicians were. The dancers stopped dancing and the music ceased as Seymour held up his hand to signal for silence.

"Thank you all for coming to my dance. Please make yourselves at home and enjoy this celebration of Guado Day," said Seymour, who was wearing a navy blue tuxedo.

The crowd began shuffling about and resumed back to dancing once again to the lively music. Seymour descended the single step onto the dance floor and looked around the packed surroundings for Yuna. But before he could spot her, a rather elderly Guado waddled up to Seymour and asked him to dance. The next thing he knew, he was on the dance floor jiving with the old woman. Soon, the orchestra began playing a slower song and Yuna and Tidus returned to the dance floor together.

The music was even slower than the previous one and much more romantic. Yuna positioned her arms around Tidus' neck and he placed his hands around her back. Together, they moved as one to the soothing melody. Yuna glanced up at Tidus. She felt so close to him, so connected, but she didn't know if he felt anything close to what she was feeling. She sighed inwardly and decided to concentrate on dancing.

Tidus cast a glimpse at Yuna. He had never seen anyone so beautiful in his life. He had also never met anyone as special. Yuna was different. She wasn't like those other girls who wanted to be close to him just because he was the star blitzball player back home in Zanarkand. She had taken the time to really get to know him for who he was, not what was just on the surface. She really cared about him. Yuna looked up at Tidus. They locked gazes for what seemed like an eternity. Then, Tidus pulled her lightly into a hug and Yuna returned it. She rested her head on his shoulder and closed her eyes. It was sort of like her dream. The same dream that Seymour had ruined. Yuna opened her eyes and found herself staring at Seymour's back, who was dancing a few meters away. She turned her head away from the half Guado and lightly steered them further away, increasing the distance between them and Seymour. The last thing she wanted was for Seymour to wreck this moment. The moment that she never wanted to end...

But soon, the musician's melody faded and the lights began coming back to life around them. Yuna and Tidus parted slightly and he held her at arm length, looking deeply into her jade and cobalt eyes. He felt a bond with Yuna, a strong connection. Everything that had happened between them, from the moment they met, to him promising to protect her from Seymour, and to going on vacation with her; it all seemed as if it were destined to happen. Maybe he was her guardian angel. Although they hadn't known each other for very long, her soul had touched his; and that was something that happened only once in a lifetime.

* * *

And that was chapter 9. I hope you all enjoyed it and being the nice people you are, please review! I highly appreciate them. Till next chapter:) 


	10. Pyreflies, Moonlilies, and Fireflies

A/N: Hey everyone! Sry for the long update but schools been so demanding this semester. I also have writers block for next chapter so it may take a while until I update again. But I will try my best. I want to once again thank my fabulous reviewers. You guys are the absolute best! Anyways I won't keep you from this chapter any longer. It has something a lot of you have been waiting for. Enjoy!

* * *

Tidus woke up very early the next morning. It was still dark out as a matter of fact and all of Guadosalam was quiet and still. The clock on the night stand indicated that it was only 5:30, but Tidus felt fully awake so he decided to get up and headed into the bathroom to wash up. After taking a shower, he threw on a white t-shirt and pants then exited his room and quietly shut the door behind him. Gippal's snores could be heard in the room next to his as Tidus walked down the hallway and out of Seymour's house. The fresh, morning atmosphere outside was very pleasant. It was quite warm and the sweet smell of flowers lingered in the air. Tidus decided to stroll towards the Moonflow since he had nowhere else to go and there were no restaurants opened yet for breakfast. To his surprise, someone else was also heading towards the bank of the lake just a little ahead of him. 

"Yuna," called Tidus as he reached her. "Hey, you're up early."

She stopped and turned around. "Morning," smiled Yuna. "I wanted to come and watch the sunrise. Want to join me?"

They walked to the Moonflow together and they took a seat next to the bank, gazing out at the moonlily filled lake, "I couldn't sleep anymore so I decided to get up and take a walk around until everyone else got up. I didn't expect to find you here."

Yuna smiled at him, "Well, I don't think anyone's going to get up anytime soon today, especially not after the way everyone partied last night."

Tidus nodded in agreement and he thought back to the dance last night. He wish it had lasted longer, but it all came to an end when Seymour had made his final announcement to everyone, one that Tidus barely heard but it went something like this, _"Thank you once again for coming. I will be seeing you all next year!"_ Tidus picked up a stick lying on the ground and began drawing on the moist dirt. Yuna watched as he carved out two hearts. He looked up and smiled at her.

"Look, the sun's coming up," said Yuna gently.

The horizon gleamed a magnificent orangey-red colour that seemed to wake the Moonflow. The moonlilies began closing their petals, shielding themselves from the daylight and the crystal clear water glowed a light shade of tangerine. A gentle breeze sent ripples dancing across the lake and made the lush green leaves on the many trees dance in the wind. The sky began to light up, brighter and brighter, until it was a pale robins egg blue.

"Pretty," whispered Yuna as a smile played itself across her lips.

"Sure is," replied Tidus. He checked his watch, "We should probably head back to get some breakfast."

He got up and dusted his pants off then extended his hand to help Yuna up. They walked back to Guadosalam to find the rest of the group had gotten up and was beginning to prepare breakfast. Seymour's servant had offered to make them breakfast but everyone insisted that Lulu made it instead because they were craving some of her scrumptious cooking.

"Morning. You guys sure are up early ya?" said Wakka, who was helping Lulu make pancakes for everyone.

They smiled at him but said nothing. Rikku was spying on them with a mischievous grin on her face as she was grilling some sausages. She knew there was something up with the two of them, especially after the dance last night. Yuna grabbed a pitcher of orange juice from the fridge and Tidus got some glasses. Soon, everyone sat down to the most important meal of the day, feasting on Lulu's famous buttermilk pancakes and Rikku's breakfast sausages with freshly squeezed orange juice. Nobody touched the toast Gippal made though considering he had burnt every slice he had attempted to make.

"Come on you guys! Have some of my toast!" demanded Gippal inbetween bites of pancake and sausage.

"What toast? You mean this pile of black stuff?" asked Rikku. She poked it with her fork and found that it was rock hard.

Everyone laughed as Gippal hung his head in false sadness. Everybody knew that Gippal was no good at cooking, he was only good at wolfing down food. Seymour entered the kitchen and greeted everyone. He got one good morning each from Lulu and Wakka and a silent treatment from Rikku. Yuna and Tidus were engrossed in conversation and Gippal was too busy stuffing himself. Seymour frowned at Tidus but it slowly turned into a sly grin as he thought of something. He didn't bother sitting down for breakfast and left to find Tromell.

"So, where to today?" asked Rikku after she finished her glass of orange juice.

"The Moonflow. There's suppose to be fireworks tonight to conclude the Guado Festival and before that, we can all ride on the shoopuff," replied Yuna.

The servant came to clean up their plates as they headed back to their rooms to get changed. Rikku dragged Yuna into her room to help her pick out what to wear since Yuna was already dressed and Tidus was left alone to wait for everyone. He chose to wait outside the house since it was quite stuffy in there. At that time, two Guado's were approaching the house. Tidus chose not to pay attention to them, thinking they were only passing by. But they stopped a small distance away and grinned evilly at him, whispering to one another. The Guado's then ran up to Tidus and as he turned around to face them, they lunged at him.

Yuna was the first one to head outside. She had quickly helped Rikku pick out some clothes and was hoping to wait for the others with Tidus but found Seymour there instead. "Where's Tidus?" asked Yuna, looking around for him.

Seymour smiled at her, "He told my people that he wasn't feeling well. He should be in his room resting."

Yuna stopped and stared at him. "But he was fine this morning," she said slowly.

Seymour just shrugged and continue to smile at her. Yuna looked away. Him staring at her like that was making her uncomfortable and her hair stand on end. The others began descending the stairs, joining Yuna and Seymour at the entrance.

Yuna pulled Rikku aside, "Seymour said that Tidus is sick but it seems like he's hiding something."

Rikku studied her cousin, "Well, it does seem weird but I don't think he's lying. When I was walking by, the door to his room was open and I saw someone lying in his bed. It must have been Tidus."

"I'll go see him. If he's sick, he'll need someone to take care of him," said Yuna. She turned around and was about to head to Tidus' room when Seymour stopped her.

"That won't be necessary. He said he didn't want anyone to disturb him. But I'll have my people, _take care, _of him," said Seymour. A wicked grin spread across his lips and his eyes gleamed evilly but he was careful to conceal it.

Yuna sighed. She had to admit defeat since she couldn't prove him wrong or that he was lying. So they all boarded a carriage-type vehicle which took them to the Moonflow. They boarded a shoopuff and a Hypello drove it out to the newly expanded area, which contained waterfalls, more moonlilies, and large stone cliffs carved to resemble the faces of famous people in Spira. If anyone was looking for something more exciting, this was not the place to go. The expanded area was more for relaxing and sight seeing. Once again, Rikku's camera started clicking away at the scenery around them. Everyone was enjoying their shoopuff ride except for Yuna. She couldn't take her mind off of Tidus. The whole situation just seemed too bizarre. Something was definitely up, but she didn't know what. Yuna glanced over at Seymour and for the second time, she felt hatred towards him. Although she didn't know what was really going on, she was almost positive it had something to do with Seymour.

"Yuna, I haven't spoken to you in a very long while. How are you?" asked Seymour, flashing her a smile.

"I'm alright," replied Yuna rather bluntly.

Seymour continued talking to Yuna but she wasn't paying attention to him anymore. She just wanted to go see Tidus at that moment. Much to her relief, the Hypello docked back at the South Wharf shortly after and she quickly got off, running all the way back to Guadosalam. She threw open the door to Tidus' room and found him walking out of the bathroom.

"Tidus! Are you alright?" asked a concerned Yuna.

"Well, I am now," he replied as he took a seat on his bed, looking a little surprised that Yuna had suddenly burst into his room.

Yuna noticed a bruise on his arm. "What happened?" she asked, sitting down next to him.

He explained to her about the Guado's who tried to pick a fight with him. They had pounced on him and attempted to haul him to the entrance of the Thunder Plains where they started to fight him but Tidus ended up beating the crap out of them. Apparently, the Guado's had received orders from their master to harm him but they refused to name their leader.

Yuna threw her arms around him, "I'm just glad you're ok."

Tidus wrapped his arms around her and smiled. Happiness flooded his entire body. Yuna was worried about _him_. They remained in that position until Rikku bounced into the room. Tidus let go of Yuna reluctantly and they both looked at Rikku.

She gave them a coy smile, "I see that you're feeling much better Tidus."

Yuna began explaining what really happened to Tidus. By the time she finished, Rikku's eyes had doubled in size.

"You're kidding me!"

Yuna shook her head, "But we still can't prove that Seymour had anything to do with this."

They all sat in silence. She was right. They had nothing to prove anything to anyone and Seymour was nowhere to be found. Suddenly, Rikku perked up, "I almost forgot, I came to tell you guys that we're going out for dinner."

Once Yuna and Tidus got ready, they all headed to a local Guado restaurant where they all had authentic Guado food and various drinks. Then they headed into the middle of the woods where many people had already shown up to watch the fireworks. They all sat around on the huge blanket that Lulu had brought along and laid out on the grass. Yuna stared up at the night sky. It was a clear evening and millions of bright, twinkling stars could be seen from anywhere in Spira. She gazed at the dots in awe, remembering what her dad and her used to do when she was a child.

"Yuna, what are you thinking about?" asked Tidus softly.

She turned to face him. "About my father, and what we used to do together," replied Yuna quietly.

He kept his azure eyes on her, waiting for her to continue.

"When I was little, my father used to always bring me outside to play, especially during sunset. We'd watch it together, then when nightfall came, we'd catch stars."

"Stars?" Tidus asked gently.

Yuna nodded, "They aren't actually stars but I used to believe that they really were the stars in the sky. My father would tell me that they were the stars that have taken form as fireflies."

Tidus suddenly got up and held out his hand, "Yuna, come with me. I want to show you something."

She got up and they walked past some thick trees that separated the clearing where everyone was going to watch the fireworks and the Moonflow. Yuna let out a soft gasp. The whole river was glowing with pyreflies and fireflies that were hovering near the blooming moonlilies. She couldn't remember seeing anything as beautiful as the scene before her.

"Wow, it's so beautiful," whispered Yuna in awe.

Tidus grabbed Yuna's hand and slowly descended the bank. He led her into the lake as she continued to look around them with astonishment. They stopped in the middle of the pond and stood there while the pyreflies and fireflies swirled around them gracefully, enveloping them in twirls of sparkle and glitter. Yuna reached out and cupped her hands together quickly. She opened a tiny gap with her fingers for Tidus to see. A tiny firefly was floating inside, trying to escape. He smiled at her and she returned it before opened her hands, allowing the firefly to fly freely again.

"I remember reading about nightfall here. About the pyreflies, moonlilies, and fireflies in one of those brochures you had brought over to Wakka's place," Tidus said softly.

Yuna turned to face him and found that he was looking straight into her eyes. She felt her heartbeat quicken as Tidus stepped closer to her. He placed his hands on her upper arms and kept his cobalt eyes on her emerald and sapphire ones, not breaking contact for even a second. He slowly started moving his head closer and closer to Yuna's until their lips met. Yuna closed her eyes and wrapped her arms around his neck as he wrapped his hands around her waist. He kissed her gently and passionately, letting all his emotions for her out. They were focusing only on each other, the one person that meant so much to the other. Then, he deepened the kiss, moving one of his hands up to her shoulder blade and pulling her closer to him. Their lips moved with each others in unity and they soon became completely oblivious to their surroundings. Oblivious to the pyreflies and fireflies that were dancing around them and to the fireworks that were now lighting up the night sky. That moment seemed to last forever, as if time itself had stopped for them. After what seemed like an eternity, they gently parted from one another. Smiling at each other, they were both unaware that someone had just witnessed part of that scene.

Hand in hand, they walked back to the clearing where everyone was watching the finale of the spectacular fireworks. With one last bang, the colourful show came to an end. The crowd cheered and began getting up to leave. Yuna and Tidus followed the path back to Guadosalam along with the majority of the people. They returned to Seymour's house and bid each other good night before turning in to a slumber filled with sweet dreams.

* * *

And that was chapter 10. I hope you all liked it and please please please review! Oh and I'm thinking of changing the title of my story. I feel that it doesn't really fit with with my story that much. I would appreciate it if you could include any suggestions in your reviews. Till next chapter! 


	11. An Unexpected Request

A/N: Hey everyone! It's been a while since I updated but hw's been coming at me like bucket fulls and I've had absolutely no time to write. Thank you once again to my reviewers, you guys are the absolute best! I have also decided to keep the title I have right now. What the heck, it's all good. But I appreciate those who gave or at least tried to give me suggestions. Thanks! Anyways, I won't keep you from this chapter any longer. Enjoy!

* * *

The following morning was much like the one before with Lulu making waffles, Rikku making scrambled eggs, Wakka preparing some whipped cream, and Seymour's servant standing around nervously as she watched them from a distance. They had managed to keep Gippal out of the kitchen so he wouldn't burn anything again. Instead, he was in charge of putting out the cutlery, glasses, milk, maple syrup, and fruits for everybody. He wasn't complaining though. The way Seymour's servant kept peering over at the other three cooking and then shifting uncomfortably on the spot was giving him the creeps. At least if he wasn't in the kitchen, she would pay no attention to him. 

Yuna and Tidus were the last ones up. By the time they had both come out to join the rest of the gang for breakfast, Gippal had already wolfed down three waffles, two glasses of milk, half the scrambled eggs, and his bowl of fruits. Yuna took a seat next to Rikku and Tidus took a seat next to Wakka. As soon as her best friend sat down, Rikku lowered her fork and turned her full attention to Yuna.

"Yunie," began Rikku, propping her elbows up on the table and resting her head on her hands.

"Yeah?" asked Yuna. She was helping herself to some whipped cream to put on her waffle and didn't see her cousin's mischievous grin.

"I want to talk to you," replied Rikku simply as she twiddled her fork in her hand.

"About what?" questioned Yuna, who was now getting some of what was left of the eggs.

"I'll tell you when you're done," said Rikku as she returned to her bowl of fresh fruits, which included strawberries, slices of cantaloupe and honeydew, and grapes.

Yuna turned to face her. What on earth did Rikku want to talk to her about? And why was she being so mysterious about it? _I guess I'll just have to wait and see. _She gave Tidus a quick glance before turning back to her waffle and scrambled eggs. As soon as she had finished off her glass of milk, Rikku grabbed Yuna's hand and pulled her into her own bedroom.

"Why didn't you tell me?" demanded Rikku as soon as she shut the door tightly behind her.

Yuna stared blankly at her best friend, "What didn't I tell you?"

"That you and Tidus are going out! I thought we were best friends," pouted Rikku while crossing her arms.

"But, how did you..." said Yuna softly, slightly stunned at how she could have found out.

"I saw you guys kissing in the lake last night during the firework festival," answered Rikku, now getting a bit impatient.

Yuna pulled Rikku down beside her on the bed, "Rikku, Tidus and I only just told each other how we felt last night at the lake. It all happened just yesterday. I never wanted to keep this a secret from you. As a matter of fact, I wanted to tell you right after breakfast, but you beat me to it."

Rikku lowered her eyes, "I'm sorry Yunie, for pouncing on you like that," she said in what was almost a whisper.

"Don't worry about it. And I'm sorry too. I should have told you earlier about how I felt towards Tidus. It was my fault for making you think and feel the way you did. Best friends aren't suppose to keep secrets from each other. You'll always be my best friend and you'll always be the most important person to me," reassured Yuna, giving Rikku a warm smile.

Rikku returned the smile and the two cousins gave each other a best friend's hug. The bond they felt between them at that moment was unexplainable, but they definitely felt closer to each other then ever before. Rikku pulled away shortly and looked at Yuna.

"Yunie, don't be sorry. I know why you didn't tell me. It's because of Seymour. If he found out about you liking Tidus, who knows what he'll do. I remember you telling me that in Kilika," she said gently, with Yuna's right hand still clasped inbetween her own.

A knock sounded at the door at this moment, momentarily distracting them.

"Yuna, Rikku, we need to head to the airport now," came Lulu's voice.

"Coming!" responded Rikku.

As soon as everybody had gathered their suitcases, they headed out to the airport. Their next destination was the Mi'ihen Highroad. They didn't plan on staying there for very long since there wasn't much to see or do there. The main reason they wanted to go there was to ride the chocobos. An hour later, the plane landed at the biggest city in Spira, Luca. Although the bustling streets of Luca was very inviting, their destination was just beyond it's borders.

They arrived at the entrance to the highroad in two separate taxis. Much to Seymour's annoyance, he was not in the same taxi as Yuna but Tidus was. This added to Seymour's hatred towards him, which was already a plethora. The Mi'ihen Highroad was probably one of the only places in Spira that had barely changed over all these years. It was still covered in fields of green with the same dirt road that ran through the middle all the way to the Mushroom Rockroad. Even all the fragments of ruins were still in place. The only difference was that Rin's Agency was no longer there. In it's place now stood a chocobo ranch, which was the only source of tourist attraction after Luca until the Moonflow.

"Aww, cuties!" squealed Rikku as her camera started clicking away at the yellow, feathery creatures.

Seymour had gone inside a wooden lodge to speak with someone from the ranch so that they could rent some chocobos. Everybody else waited outside in the pleasant weather. It was an extra sunny afternoon and a gentle breeze cooled them down just enough to enjoy the outdoors perfectly. A moment later, Seymour returned to the group and handed out chocobo passes to each of them.

"It's proof that we rented them and not just stole them," retorted a crossed looking Seymour.

When he had handed out the passes, Gippal had given him the most skeptical look he could manage, as if it was shameful to be seen with such things. Usually, Gippal would have continued to show his displeasure just to annoy people but Seymour seemed to have this threatening vibe about him today and he decided it would be best if he didn't mess with him.

"Now what? Do we just pick whichever chocobo we want or do we get some assistance, ya?" questioned Wakka as he secured the pass onto his belt.

At that moment, a girl in a beige tube top exited the lodge and headed towards them. She had two braids on either side of her head and wore a super short mini skirt.

"Hello everyone, my name's Calli and I'm one of the owners of this ranch," said the girl. "Come over here with me and I'll get you each your own chocobo."

The group followed her into a large fenced off area where about a hundred chocobo's roamed about. She gave them a short tutorial on how to mount, dismount, and control the chocobos before pairing them up with one. Everyone picked up the techniques with ease, except Wakka, who still had a little trouble controlling his. Soon, the seven of them were heading down the highroad towards Mushroom Rockroad where they'll be spending most of their time while on the chocobos. The Mushroom Rockroad was another place that hadn't changed a lot over the past years. It was much the same except for the fact that there were no more rising "rock elevators" that brought you up to the next level.

"I think we should have a race!" suggested Gippal excitedly.

"Yeah! Anyone who's in raise their hand!" cried Rikku, who threw her hand up instantly.

Yuna, Tidus, and Wakka soon raised their hands as well but Lulu decided not to join. They all looked to Seymour, who was the only one who hadn't shown any signs of objection or approval.

"I'm not going to race. I think I'll just go and take a look around instead. I will meet you all in one hour back at the lodge," said Seymour. He turned his chocobo around and headed off, disappearing behind a bend.

Gippal shrugged, "Oh well. Let's begin."

Rikku, Yuna, Tidus, and Gippal all lined up side by side behind a line that Rikku had drawn on the dirt. Since Lulu wasn't going to join them, they had made her the person who signaled for the beginning of the race.

"Ready, set, GO!" called Lulu.

The five of them thundered down the highroad like a bunch of kids chasing after the ice cream truck on a hot summer day. Rikku kept her position to somewhere near the middle and Wakka, unsurprisingly, had the most trouble keeping up. The real race was with the other three, who were practically neck to neck. As they neared the finish line, Yuna started falling behind Tidus and Gippal, who were both determined to win. A quick, yellow blur across another line drawn on the dirt indicated the end of their race. The two guys pulled firmly on their reins to bring their chocobos to a halt. Yuna joined them shortly after, followed by Rikku, then Lulu and Wakka.

"Damn, I was so close too. I can't believe I lost!" exclaimed Gippal, a look of annoyance on his face.

Tidus smiled, "Better luck next time."

Yuna stopped her chocobo next to Tidus' and gave him a warm, fuzzy smile. He returned it with an even warmer smile, showing his affection for her as best as he could without anyone else noticing.

"I don't think my chocobo likes me very much," said Wakka as he came to an awkward stop.

"His chocobo was running in a zigzag pattern," laughed Lulu.

Wakka blushed slightly, "It's not my fault ya!"

Lulu continued laughing at her husband, who was looking to the other four for some support. Although they gave him none, they didn't join in Lulu's teasing either. The group of six eventually finished their short expedition around Mushroom Rockroad, then returned to the wooden lodge where Seymour and Calli were already waiting for them. After dismounting and returning their chocobos, Calli ushered them inside the house.

"If it's not too much trouble, I have a request I hope all of you will help me with," said Calli, leaning forward on a chair behind a desk cluttered with paper. "I would like to join in on your vacation."

The group stared at her in pure astonishment, unable to believe what they had just heard.

"What!" cried Rikku and Gippal in unision.

"Calli, you mean you want to travel around Spira with us?" asked Yuna slowly, taken back by the sudden request.

She nodded and propped her head on her hands, "I know this sounds awkward but I really want to go traveling around Spira. And since all of you just happen to be doing that right now, I thought it would be more fun going in a large group than alone."

The group sat in silence for a while, their minds buzzing with all sorts of thoughts. How could a complete stranger possibly expect them to take her along? Yuna exchanged a glance with Tidus, who inturn exchanged one with Gippal, who did the same with Rikku, who passed it on to Lulu, then to Wakka, who gave a fleeting look to Yuna. This continued for a few more times around until Calli spoke up again.

"I know that none of you know me, but I know Seymour," she said, looking to Seymour.

"That's right. I think she can come along," he said calmly. "You could say we know each other because she was once a student at my singing studio. She's a really nice person and also someone you can trust. I will accept all responsibility and pay for all her costs while she's with us."

"But what about your ranch Calli?" questioned Lulu, who nudged her husband in an attempt to get him to help defend her but he was the most dumbstruck one out of the seven so he was of no help at all.

"Don't worry about that. Remember I told you that I was _one_ of the owners of this ranch, so the other owner, my best friend Nhadala, will be here while I'm gone. She's out in the desert right now but she'll be back tonight," she replied.

Rikku and Yuna gave each other an uneasy glimpse. Seymour was never one to defend someone he had known for a few weeks let alone someone who was once a student at his studio six years back, whom he had lost all contacts with and had only met up again two hours ago. But as long as he was willing to take responsibility for everything concerning her...

"I guess she can come if you know her," said Lulu quietly. "That is, if it's alright with Yuna because it is her vacation after all."

"Ya," agreed Wakka, finally snapping out of his bewilderment.

Yuna felt a lump form in her throat, "Well, if no one else is objecting then I suppose it's fine."

Everyone stood in silence. There was nothing they could really do about it now.

Seymour smiled at them, "Then it's all set. Calli will be coming along with us on our vacation as of today."

Calli stood up, "Thanks so much you guys, I really appreciate it."

After Calli finished with her business at the lodge, they all took a limo back to Luca, where they will be spending the night. As Yuna, Rikku, Tidus, Gippal, Lulu, and Wakka all headed into their rooms in the 'Luxury Inn', an unsettling feeling seemed to weigh upon them like stones. What had happened just an hour ago kept replaying itself in their minds, even as they climbed into their big, feathery beds, leaving them to fall into a fretful rest.

* * *

And that was chapter 11. Just like this chapter, it will take me a while to update again. I will try my best to update asap though. Please review! I will love you for it and besides, they make me happy. Till next chapter :) 


	12. Let the Games Begin: Blitzoff!

A/N: Hello everyone! It's been a while! But now that I'm done all my exams and summer is finally here, I'll have lots more time to write. However, I do need to do some planning first so give me some time. The tables will turn in the coming chapters. Thats all I'm gonna say. I'm also thinking of starting another story so I'll probably be juggling between this story and my next one. I want to thank my fabulous reviwers. You guys rock! I wanted to update yesterday but fanfic was having some technical difficulties so I couldn't. Anyways, I won't keep you from this chapter any longer. It's the longest chapter I've written so far. Enjoy!

* * *

Everyone woke up the next morning in a still half asleep state except for Calli and Seymour, who were already seated in the dining area downstairs for breakfast. Seymour was doing what he did every morning, reading the newspaper, sipping coffee, and eating a plate of bacons and eggs. Sitting across from him, Calli was busy finishing her breakfast, which was a cup of hot cappuccino and a veggie omelette, so she could retreat back to her hotel room and make an important phone call to her best friend, Nhadala. The rest of the group joined them at the long, rectangular table, with Yuna and Rikku sitting the farthest away from Seymour and Calli. They both still felt a little uneasy about the new comer. 

"What can I get you three for breakfast?" asked a red headed waiter pleasantly.

"A large chocolate chip muffin and freshly squeezed orange juice please," replied Yuna without even bothering to look at the menu.

"Me too," said Tidus as he took a seat next to Yuna and clasped his hand around her's.

A smile instantly invaded Yuna's lips and her face lit up with happiness. She moved her seat as close as she could to his and then intertwined her fingers with Tidus'. He tightened his grip around her hand and smiled back, feeling like the luckiest guy on earth.

"Surprise me," said Rikku lazily as she stifled a yawn.

"Coming right up," replied the waiter. He collected their menus and disappeared behind two doors that led to the kitchen.

Yuna turned to her cousin, "Rikku, what if he gives you something you don't like?"

Rikku shrugged in reply and stifled another yawn, "As long as I have something edible in my stomach, I'll be fine with whatever it is. I'm too tired to make any important decisions right now."

Yuna smiled at her best friend before turning to smile at Tidus again. She made it a quick one though since she didn't want to get caught by Seymour. Fortunately for them, Seymour was busy calling the traveling agency to arrange plane tickets and hotel rooms for Calli. Soon the waiter returned with their breakfast and they all dug in. Rikku's surprise turned out to be french toast served with maple syrup and butter and a glass of mineral water.

"So, how'd you sleep last night?" asked Tidus as he took a bite of his muffin.

Yuna sighed, "I barely slept. I couldn't stop thinking about what happened yesterday."

"Me neither," Rikku added as she cut up the bread on her plate and stuffed a piece of it in her mouth. "I couldn't stop thinking about Calli and how Seymour _really_ wanted her to come along."

Yuna nodded, "That was really odd. But I guess as long as she's going to be with us, we might as well make the best of everything."

After they finished eating, everybody sat around the chairs at the front lobby where Tidus and Wakka had an important announcement to make.

"Everyone, today's an important day, ya," began Wakka excitedly.

"Today's the day of our final Blitzball game," continued Tidus.

"We'll definitely be there to support you," smiled Yuna as she glanced at Tidus.

Rikku nodded, practically bouncing out of her chair with excitement, "Of course, how could we not?"

"I'm sorry but I won't be able to make it. I need to take care of my traveling things first," apologized Calli, who had just joined them not too long ago after making her call.

"And I need to go with her so I won't be there either," stated Seymour while stuffing some paper into his briefcase.

"That's perfectly alright cause the rest of us will be," said Rikku rather coldly.

However, Seymour failed to notice this and he went off with Calli shortly after. The rest of the group all climbed into a limo after changing into their team's colours, yellow and blue. Soon, the limo pulled up next to one of the biggest blitzball stadiums in Spira and everybody piled out. Tidus and Wakka descended the stairs into the locker rooms while the rest of the gang went to find their seats in the grand stadium.

"This is it team," said Wakka to his huddled players, "the final match."

"Let's show them what we're made of!" yelled Tidus.

"Yeah!" the Auroch's shouted in unision, throwing their fists up in the air and breaking into their familiar "victory" chant.

The Auroch's had just finished throwing on their team uniforms when a knock sounded at the door. Wakka opened it to reveal Yuna and Lulu.

"We came to wish you all good luck," said Lulu, who smiled at her husband.

While the rest of the team was busy talking to Lulu and Wakka, Yuna pulled Tidus off to a private corner.

"This is for good luck," whispered Yuna as she stood on her tiptoes and kissed him on the cheek.

He pulled her into a bear hug and kissed her on the forehead, "Thanks."

Soon, the men began marching into the packed stadium, ready for their final match of this year's blitzball tournament. To nobody's surprise, the Auroch's were going to be playing against the Luca Goers. The Auroch's used to be only third best after the Goer's and the Zanarkand Abes, but that had all changed in less than a years time.

Tidus' father used to be the Abes' coach and was even named the best coach that ever existed, but he had decided to retire several years back. After Jecht's retirement, Zanarkand got a few new instructors, but none of them lasted more than a year and a half. Their most recent instructor trained them for not even half a year. He had been discovered by a team mate to be a drug dealer and then had gotten arrested and put in jail. The other teams who had lost to the Abes prior to their coach's arrest took this incident as a chance to protest to the authorities. They reasoned that Zanarkand should no longer be able to compete in the tournament because their coach could have given them drugs to enhance their performance and therefore, enabling them to make it to the finals. After that, the Zanarkand Abes were disqualified to continue playing in the Blitzball tournament. That was also when Tidus' parents had proposed that they were moving to Besaid so he decided to leave the Zanarkand Abes.

Then, half a year later, he became a member of the Besaid Aurochs. Tidus' contribution to the team had made the Auroch's become the second best blitzball team in Spira. If they won this tournament, they would become the number one team in all of Spira.

"And here are the teams now!" exclaimed one of the commentator's, Bobba, excitedly.

The Auroch's and the Goer's were swimming up to each other in the sphere pool. Wakka and Bickson shook hands very briefly. He had given Wakka a look that said "your crappy team can't beat us. We're the Goers, the best team that ever existed" before turning around and getting into position for the start of the game. _Just you wait and see what we're got Goers. May the best team win,_ thought Wakka as he got into position as well.

"Ready, set, BLITZOFF!" shouted the other commentator, Jimma, above the din from the crowd.

Instantly, the two team captains shot upward towards the blitzball. Wakka managed to win the blitzoff and began swimming as fast as he could towards their opponents net with the ball in his hand. He was stopped by Luca's defense, where he passed the ball to Tidus, who then scored with ease.

"And the Auroch's get the first goal!" yelled Bobba as the crowd cheered for them.

Yuna and Rikku jumped up and waved their mini Aurochs flags around while Gippal stood up on the bleachers and began cheering and hollering at the top of his lungs. Lulu stayed seated but she had the largest flag in the stadium, which she waved around wildly.

As the ball was shot up again for another blitzoff, Bickson grabbed the ball and swam off towards the left side to find himself facing Wakka and Letty, who blocked him off. Bickson chose to pass to Abus, who as soon as he got hold of the ball, was knocked out of the sphere pool by Tidus. The crowd, (but mainly girls who were huge fans of Tidus,) squealed with excitement as he took off with the ball. As he reached their opponent's net, the Goer's line of defense made a barrier between him and the goal.

Tidus decided to endure each player's tackle until there was only one other player left, then began flipping upside down for a Sphere Shot. He kicked the ball with as much force as he could muster, causing Balgerda to fail to get a hand on the ball. It whizzed by the goalie so fast that he didn't even see the ball.

"Another goal for the Aurochs!" Bobba screamed into the microphone.

Once again, the Auroch fans leapt to their feet and began cheering and whistling for him. Tidus looked out into the stands and saw a sea of blue and yellow jersey's and flags, which invaded more than half the bleachers in the whole stadium. He smiled inwardly to himself. His popularity had never faded, not even after he left the Zanarkand Abes. It had been a while since he had experienced something like this again.

After the third and fourth blitzoff, the Goer's had caught up and tied the score to 2-2. A buzzer sounded off in the distance, indicating the end of the first period. Both teams swam back into the changing rooms to prepare for the second half of the match.

"The second half of the final game in this years blitzball tournament will begin shortly. It was an exciting first period for both teams and it seems that we will still have quite a game ahead of us," said Bobba. "The Luca Goer's have some tough competition this year for the Crystal Cup and if they want to keep their title as champions, they'll need to work hard in the final half..."

The mass of people soon drowned out the commentators as they continued to cheer and holler about the outstanding game.

"I'm going to get some popcorn, nachos and drinks. Does anyone want anything?" asked Gippal loudly so he could be heard.

"A hotdog, bag of regular chips, and an ice cold drink for me," replied Rikku so loud that a few people near her turned and stared at her in a weird way.

"I want fries with ketchup and a bottle of cold water please," Yuna voiced loudly.

"I'll have some vanilla ice cream," answered Lulu audibly.

"Got it," hollered Gippal as he scrambled off to the food stands just outside the stadium.

He returned just as the commentators were announcing the two teams return to the sphere pool and quickly passed out the food and drinks he had gotten. The crowd broke into ear-splitting cries again as the second period began. Twenty minutes later, each team had managed to score two more goals, keeping the score tied yet again at 4-4.

"Man they're tough players," commented Gippal as he stuffed some popcorn in his mouth.

Yuna nodded. "Yeah. I sure hope the Auroch's win this year," she said, taking some chips from Rikku.

"Me too," added Rikku as she reached over and took some nachos from her boyfriend.

As they continued to watch the fast paced game in the final round, they each pilfered food from one another and even had a mini food fight. Soon, the second period was almost over and the two teams were fighting neck to neck, trying to score on the other team. As the clock ticked away, the crowd started getting more anxious, hoping their choice of team would win the cup this year.

"And there is just under twenty seconds left on the clock," stated Jimma eagerly.

Wakka swiftly passed the ball to Tidus, who swam up to Luca's five-men defense. His mind was working fast and he knew that there was only one way right now that would ensure the Auroch's victory this year.

"Ten, nine, eight..." the crowd chanted along with the clock.

"Is this what I think it is? Wow! It is! He's going to use the legendary Jecht Shot!" Jimma bellowed into the microphone

Tidus' movements were quick as lightening. He kicked and smacked the ball at the players, knocking them away one by one, until it was only him and the goalie. He then jumped up and twirled before making contact with the ball. The ball zoomed towards the goalie with a great spurt of speed as he prepared to saved it...

"GOAL!" yelled Bobba at the top of his lungs. "The Besaid Auroch's win the Crystal Cup this year!"

The Aurochs' fans erupted into a deafening roar of approval. Yuna and Rikku jumped up and hugged each other tightly, rejoicing the first victory the Auroch's had in over five years. Gippal jumped up onto the bleachers again and shouted as loud as he could though no one could hear above the din while Lulu waved around her flag so energetically that the people around her back away a little incase she hit them with it.

After the awarding ceremony where the Auroch's received the Crystal Cup, the whole group decided to go out for dinner to celebrate their victory. They chose to feast at an Italian restaurant that was quite popular in Luca, Il Cetriolo Felice. For once, they managed to find a restaurant that had larger tables to accommodate the whole party instead of having to separate to two different tables. Everyone took a seat around the rectangular table, with Tidus, Yuna, and Rikku sitting respectively on one side and the other three sitting across from them.

When they were placing their orders, the waiter also brought them a complimentary bottle of champagne as a congratulations on the Blitzball game. Wakka popped the cork on the bottle and poured out half a glass for everyone.

"I would like to propose a toast for the Auroch's victory this year," said Wakka happily as he raised his glass into the air. "And we couldn't have done it without Tidus. A toast to him too."

Everyone raised their glasses and lightly clinked it with everyone else's, "Cheers."

Soon, the waitress arrived with their food and everyone dug into the delicious food. First came the appetizer and soup, garlic cheese toast and french onion soup. Next up were their main entrees and drinks. Dessert were an assortment of specialty cheese cakes.

After they left Il Cetriolo Felice, Gippal was slightly drunk from drinking too much champagne and a giggling Rikku was supporting him as best as she could. She had been playing rock-paper-scissors with him and he had the worst luck you could ever imagine. Gippal had managed to lose every single game they played and the deal was that whoever lost had to drink a sip of alcohol. He barely ever drank alcohol, even during parties, but he ended up drinking almost a whole bottle by himself before Tidus and Yuna stopped him.

They got back to the hotel by a limo shuttle, then Tidus and Wakka hauled a heavily snoring Gippal into the room he was sharing with Tidus. Wakka retreated back to his and Lulu's room right after Gippal was dropped off and Rikku went over to help take care of her boyfriend. Meanwhile, Yuna and Tidus occupied her and Rikku's hotel room. They had gone outside onto the balcony and were sitting snuggled up to each other on a lounge chair with a light blanket over them, gazing at the night sky.

"What are you thinking about?" Tidus whispered into Yuna's ear.

She turned around and smiled at him, "Just thinking about what my father and I used to do."

He wrapped his arms around her waist from behind, "Remember what happened last time you were thinking about stars?"

"Of course I do. That was a very special moment and I'll never ever forget it," said Yuna gently.

"I won't either," replied Tidus as he hugged her closer to him.

Yuna gave him a half-hearted smile. Although he always made her very happy, there was something she couldn't push out of her mind every time she was with him and it made her feel a tinge of guilt. "Tidus, I'm sorry it's so hard for you to be with me because of Seymour," she said in a soft whisper.

Tidus shook his head and smiled at her, "Don't be sorry, it's not your fault. But don't worry, I won't let him or anyone else hurt you, I promise."

She looked up into his deep blue eyes as he stared back into her emerald and cerulean ones. Yuna felt at ease instantly. His gaze had always had a calming effect on her. She had also never been able to resist his ocean blue eyes. They seemed to reassure her every time she was uncertain about something.

"Yuna, have I ever told you how beautiful you are?" Tidus murmured as he gently tipped her chin back and kissed her softly.

"Now you have," Yuna replied softly. She leaned back and wrapped her arms around Tidus, putting her head on his shoulder and closing her eyes. She felt safe in his arms. She knew he'd protect her from anything and anyone. He had promised her before their trip began and now he had just promised her again. With that last thought in mind, Yuna fell into a peaceful slumber beneath the stars and in the arms of the man she loved the most.

* * *

And thats the end of chapter 12. I hope you all liked it. I tried to stick in fluff where I could cause some of you have been asking for more. And those who know Italian would have understood what the name of the restaurant was. Yes, I know it doesn't have anything to do with anything but I thought of that name myself and I like it. And no, I'm not Italian incase you're wondering. Anyways, hit that button at the bottom and review! Till next chapter :) 


	13. Accident On the Snowy Peaks

A/N: Hey everyone! I've been revising some of my plans lately and now have a satisfactory outline for the coming chapters so hopefully I can write without running into any problems. The next few chapters (I can't say for sure yet how many)will be slightly longer, just like chapter 12. Anyways, I want to thank the fabulous people known as my reviewers. You guys are the best! I can't believe I got 200 reviews and almost seven thousand hits already! All of you deserve some virtual gold nuggets. Now, to answer some of your questions. To be completely honest with you, my inspirations come out of nowhere in particular. Sometimes when I'm thinking about how certain events should lead up to the next, the greatest ideas just pop into my head and then I just start writing and it ends up flowing perfectly. I can't tell you for sure where they come from. Many of you wonder what Calli's purpose is in this story but unfortunately, I can't answer that without ruining the story for other readers. You're just going to have to be patient and keep reading. Anyways, enough of me talking. Enjoy the chapter!

* * *

"Yunie wake up!" shouted Rikku while jumping up and down on her cousin's bed. 

Yuna let out a soft groan and pulled the covers over her head but refused to get out of bed. Rikku placed her hands on her hips and cocked her head at Yuna. _Oh, how am I going to get her out of bed so we can go shopping?_ As soon as that thought occupied her head, a conclusion had already formed. _Of course! How could I have not thought of it until now! _She jumped off the bed and threw open the door then dashed across the hall and knocked loudly on the door opposite her and Yuna's room. A few moments later, some shuffling could be heard, then the lock slide out of it's socket and the door opened up.

"Hey Rikku, Gippal's not up-" began Tidus but before he could finish, the Al Bhed had grabbed onto his arm and was pulling him back across the hall.

"I'm not looking for Gippal. I need you to wake Yunie up for me so I can take her shopping," explained Rikku as she approached her room.

Tidus smiled at her, "How do you know I can wake her up?"

Rikku turned and smiled at him mischievously, "Oh, I know a lot more than you realize Mr. Tidus-who-made-out-with-my-best-friend."

Tidus continued to smile at her without saying a word. She slide her key card into the computerized lock and held open the door for Tidus. Taking quick strides, he crossed the room and sat down on the edge of Yuna's bed, gently pulling the covers away to reveal her face.

"Yuna," Tidus whispered as he gently shook her shoulder.

Yuna opened one eye slowly, "Tidus? What are you doing here?" she asked sleepily.

"Rikku wants to go shopping with you before we leave Luca," replied Tidus.

Yuna pulled herself into a sitting position and glanced at the clock sitting on the night table. "You have to be kidding me," she groaned before allowing herself to fall back on her bed.

"Yunie, come on!" cried Rikku. "It's six thirty already. After you get ready it'll be seven, then we need to have breakfast, leaving us only two hours to shop!"

"Rikku, how can you be so awake after taking care of Gippal until way past midnight yesterday?" asked Yuna tiredly.

"Because," said Rikku as she grabbed a corner of Yuna's blanket, pulled it off of her and then flung it across the room, "I love shopping more than anything on Spira and you are an extremely good shopping buddy. Now march yourself into the bathroom and get washed up."

Yuna sighed in defeat and dragged herself out of bed, knowing that even if she refused to go with Rikku, her cousin wouldn't let her sleep in peace either. Slipping on a pair of flip flops, she walked into the bathroom and shut the white door behind her.

Rikku turned her swirly green eyes at Tidus and smiled, "See, what did I tell you. I knew that you could wake her up!"

Tidus grinned and took a seat on Yuna's bed. Half an hour later, Yuna emerged from the bathroom looking considerably more awake and refreshed. The three of them had a light breakfast then departed for the numerous stores in Luca. Two hours later, they returned to the Luxury Inn with both hands holding several shopping bags each. The trio packed their bags as quickly as they could then went to meet the rest of the group by the lobby.

"Took you guys long enough ya," said Wakka kiddingly as he eyed their suitcases, which had grown somewhat bigger since the beginning of their trip.

Shortly after, a limo pulled up next to the entrance and Seymour ushered everyone inside. After stuffing all their belongings into the trunk, the driver headed off for the airport.

"Here is everyone's tickets," announced Seymour as he handed out the stack of boarding passes to Wakka before walking away to meet with Calli.

Rikku grabbed two tickets for Gippal and herself and Yuna and Tidus did the same. They quickly scanned each others seat numbers to make sure they were sitting together. The fact that Seymour didn't care who sat with who came as an immense surprise, especially to Yuna and Tidus. As they were heading into the departure gates, Yuna briefly cast a side glance at Seymour. He was busy talking to Calli, who listened but said nothing back.

Yuna slid into her seat next to the window and Tidus took his seat next to her. Before long, the plane took off into the air, flying towards their next destination, Mount Gagazet. Due to the fact that it would be very difficult to have an airport built on the mountain, the closest airport was located at the gorge after the Calm Lands and before Gagazet.

"Tidus, don't you think it's weird that Seymour didn't care who sat with who on the plane today, especially you and me?" asked Yuna as she weaved her fingers with Tidus'.

Tidus squeezed her hand. "Well, he hasn't been acting like himself ever since Calli joined us. Maybe he's moved on because he decided you were too much trouble to go after," he teased with a smile on his face.

Yuna playfully swatted him on the arm with her free hand and then tried pulling her other hand away from his grasp but Tidus held onto it tightly.

"I'm kidding!" laughed Tidus.

"You'd better be," Yuna replied jokingly. "You know there are plenty of guys out there who wouldn't mind going through the trouble for me."

Tidus' expression then turned serious, "I know, but I want to be the only guy who'll ever succeed. And you know that you're worth all the trouble in the world because you mean a lot to me Yuna. I want to be by your side forever."

Yuna blushed and looked away, trying to conceal the huge smile invading her lips. Soon, an on-flight movie started playing and the stewardess' pushed their drink trolleys around. Their plane ride to Gagazet was going to take almost two hours. As usual, Rikku and Gippal were goofing around in their seats and a couple stewardess' have had to tell them to quiet down a few times. Lulu and Wakka were both watching the movie, Seymour was writing and Calli was reading a magazine. Tidus was also watching the movie with Yuna's head resting on his shoulder. She had decided to get some more rest after going shopping so early this morning.

"Yuna, Yuna..."

Yuna slowly opened her bi-coloured eyes, "Are we here already?"

Tidus smiled at her, "Yeah. Come on, I'll get our stuff."

He opened the above compartment and pulled out his and Yuna's black suitcases. The two of them walked out the ramp to find the rest of the group waiting for them.

"It's going be cold out so make sure you're dressed warmly," said Lulu as she pulled on her long, black wool jacket.

After everyone pulled on some warmer clothes and loaded their baggages into the trunk, they climbed into a limo heading towards their hotel, which was located near where the Ronso's called Fayth Scar. The car pulled up next to the Ronso Inn shortly after where a couple Ronso's came out to collect the luggages. The party stepped out of the limo and ascended a slight slope towards the hotel.

"Brr, it sure is chilly," said Rikku, wrapping her arms around herself as a gust of wind ruffled through her short blonde hair.

Not long after everyone got settled into their rooms, snowflakes began to fall lightly from the gray sky and the wind had ceased blowing. Without so much as a breeze to accompany the snow, it wasn't too cold outside despite the location. Nevertheless, there was a warm, crackling fire in each room.

Rikku plopped herself down on a chair near the fireplace and leaned slightly forward. "Who's idea was it to come here?" asked Rikku as she held out her hands to the fire, which was behind a piece of glass.

"If I remember correctly, Wakka wanted to go to the hot spring here and then Lulu said that as long as we're coming here, she wanted to get a massage. And I recall you saying you wanted to do something that you found in one of the brochures," replied Yuna as she rummaged through her bag.

Rikku crossed the room and grabbed a copy of The Gagazet Guide lying on the bedside table. She flipped through it hastily until she found what she was looking for. "I had totally forgotten about this. Yunie, I wanted to go ice climbing!"

Yuna smiled at her best friend as she finally found what she had been searching for, "Sure, it sounds like fun. But you should check with Lulu first."

"Alright!" cried Rikku excitedly. She then hurried across the hall to find Gippal and the others.

Yuna pulled on the baby-blue scarf, hat, and gloves she had just found then bent down to lace up her black boots. After throwing on her white down jacket, she locked the door behind her and went to meet up with the rest of the party. Rikku had managed to talk everyone into going ice climbing before doing anything else and she was looking extremely pleased with herself. They had all bundled up in the warmest clothes they brought along. There was no telling when the weather might turn nasty on them, especially on a mountain.

The climbing instructor, a Ronso, led the group up the mountain a little ways before stopping at the starting point of their climb. Everyone got strapped into their harnesses and put on their safety equipment before receiving instructions. Soon, they were prepared and began collecting the necessary equipment and tools provided to them. It was also then that the Ronso got a call from the hotel. There were some people climbing by themselves further up the mountain and they were facing an emergency. Due to the fact that the hotel had a shortage in expert ice climbers, the groups instructor had to leave and go rescue the other people but he would return afterwards to check up on them.

"You go ahead of me Yuna, I'll spot you from below," said Tidus, handing a set of ice picks to her.

"I'm a little scared," admitted Yuna, taking the tools from him.

Tidus gave her a reassuring smile, "Don't worry, I won't let anything happen to you. I go ice climbing several times a year so I'm somewhat of an expert."

"How come you've never told me that?" asked Yuna, feeling calmer by his presence and reassurance.

Tidus grinned at her as he zipped up his steel blue coloured jacket. "I can't let you know everything about me in one day. If I tell you all there is to know about me, then I won't be interesting anymore and you'll get bored of me. Besides, I like having a mysterious side to me," added Tidus jokingly.

She sighed lightheartedly back at him before hammering the metal pick into the wall of ice and began pulling herself up. Rikku and Gippal were a little ahead of her, Lulu, Wakka, and Seymour were climbing at about the same pace as Tidus and Calli was the farthest behind.

"Keep going Yuna, you're doing great," called Tidus. "Just remember to tighten your harness often."

Yuna looked down below her and nodded at him. Ice climbing wasn't as difficult or as scary as she had imagined it to be, especially since Tidus was there to ensure her safety. She drove the pick into the ice again and used her boots, which had spiky add-on bottoms that the Ronso had given out to everyone, to help support her as she heaved herself upward and tightened the rope. Rikku and Gippal had slowed down by now and Yuna was gaining on them as they neared the midpoint. The atmosphere up there was a fair bit different than back down on the ground. The supply of oxygen was slightly thinner and it was also colder, not to mention that the wind was also blowing snow into their faces.

All was going well until a piercing scream echoed below them. "Aahhhh!" shrieked Calli.

Yuna looked down and gasped as she saw Calli hurling towards the ground and then landing on her side. "Calli!" shouted Yuna.

Yuna began lowering herself slowly down with the help of Tidus. Everyone else began descending towards the ground as well.

"You okay? Can you move?" asked Rikku, squatting down next to the girl. "What happened?"

"I think so. I guess I didn't place my pick far enough into the ice because when I tried to pull myself up, it gave way and the next thing I know, I'm lying on the ground," explained Calli as she began getting up with the help of Yuna and Rikku.

But as soon as she exerted pressure on her foot, she fell into Tidus' arms who caught her and steadied her on her feet.

"Ow, my ankle hurts a lot, I think I injured it when I fell," sobbed Calli, tears beginning to form in her eyes.

"She's in no shape to continue climbing, but if we all go back to the hotel, our instructor won't know what happened to us," reasoned Lulu logically.

"One of us should take her back then while the rest of us continue," said Seymour calmly.

Everyone fell silent for a moment.

"I'll take her back," volunteered Tidus. "I go ice climbing often so it's not that big of a deal if I miss this once. Besides, Rikku really wanted to go climbing and I don't want any of you to not be able to because of this."

"Then it's settled. The rest of us will continue," concluded Seymour.

"No, I'll go wi-" Yuna began but Seymour had already ushered her away.

Yuna turned to look behind her and watched as Tidus and Calli disappeared down the slope. She sighed inwardly as she began ascending the wall of ice once again. Ice climbing without Tidus just wasn't the same. She looked beside her then quickly looked away. Seymour was climbing next to her and he was trying to engage her in conversation. Yuna felt her heart sink. Seymour hadn't given up after all.

"Here's my key card," said Calli as she handed it to Tidus.

Tidus took the card and slid it through it's slot, unlocking Calli's room door and helped her inside. She took a seat on the end of her bed and slipped her arms off of Tidus'.

"I'll go get a first aid kit," said Tidus after inspecting her foot.

Calli beamed at him as he exited the room and headed down the hall towards the front desk. Shortly after, Tidus returned with a white box and knelt down next to Calli's foot. He took out a roll of bandage and began wrapping it around her sprained ankle.

"Thank you so much Tidus," said Calli as she watched him.

"Don't mention it," replied Tidus. "But I'm still a little confused how you managed to fall that far. Did you tightened your harness every so often?"

"Was I suppose to?" asked Calli. "This is the first time I've ever been ice climbing so I was a little disorganized when the instructor was explaining everything to us. I guess I should have paid more attention."

"There," said Tidus as he finished bandaging her foot.

"Thanks again Tidus," smiled Calli. She paused for a moment before continuing. "Maybe you could help me out next time."

As soon as the words left Calli's mouth, the door swung open and the rest of the party came walking into her room.

"Aren't you guys suppose to be climbing?" questioned Calli, slightly annoyed by the interruption.

"The instructor returned not long after you two left and they told him they wanted to see how you were doing with that injury so we came back," replied Seymour, annoyance written all over his face.

"I'm fine, just a little sprain," replied Calli, smiling up at him.

"Well in that case, I think we should head over to the hot spring now," suggested Rikku excitedly.

Everyone agreed except Calli and Seymour, who chose to stay behind. Everyone else headed back to their rooms to change into more suitable clothing then headed to the hot spring. The guys were the first ones to arrive and the ladies were the last ones. Yuna was sporting a deep blue bikini, Rikku had on a red string bikini, and Lulu was wearing a black one-piece. Gippal whistled at his girlfriend as she approached him, causing Rikku to reach out her hand and dunked Gippal's head into the steaming spring water. After relaxing in the hot water, they all wrapped towels around themselves and returned to the Ronso Inn to get massages.

Yuna strolled out of the bathroom with her hair wrapped in a towel and plopped down on her bed. Rikku was already fast asleep in the bed next to her's. Yuna smiled at her best friend. Rikku really exhausted herself today. After drying themselves off in their rooms, Rikku and Gippal had gone outside to make snow angels and even had a snowball fight before heading over to get massages. Yuna was happy her cousin was having so much fun but an uneasy feeling had settled itself in the pit of her stomach ever since Calli's accident and it worried her. _It's probably just me seeing Calli fall like that, _reasoned Yuna, deciding to ignore it. As she turned off the lights and pulled the blankets over her, the feeling seemed to fade away a tiny bit, allowing her to get at least some beauty sleep.

* * *

And that was chapter 13. I hope you all enjoyed it. I have already written the next chapter. I just need to edit it. Your reviews determine how fast I edit. So come on, give me tons of reviews. You know how much you want to read the next chapter...don't you want to know what happens? All I'm going to say is that plot twists will come soon. Anyways, till next chapter :) 


	14. Birthday Surprises

A/N: Hey everyone! Thanks for all the reviews! You guys rock! Here I am with another chapter. I realize the last couple chapters weren't some of my best writing due to the lack of inspiration. However, I am quite happy with this chapter and had lots of fun typing it. Now, I will be gone for the next week and a bit for my vacation. I hope that by the time I come back, I will be spammed with reviews! Also, a lot of you have been trying to guess what Calli's purpose is. Although I will not tell you exactly what it is at this point, I will say that none of you have been dead on correct as to why she's with them. Anyways, enjoy the chapter!

* * *

The following morning was a chilly one. Snow was falling heavily from the gray sky and a harsh, cold wind was whipping against the frosty windows of the Inn. Rikku shivered as she made some hot chocolate for herself. 

"I'm glad we don't have to stay here any longer," said Rikku, sipping her hot drink. "Where are we going next Yunie?"

Yuna zipped up her suitcase and set it aside then went to sit next to Rikku. "To the heart of Spira, Bevelle."

"Really? I've been waiting for this day for ages!" squealed Rikku excitedly before bounding off across the hall to knock on the door opposite their room.

"Hey Rikku, come-" began a sleepy Gippal but before he could finish, his girlfriend had already invited herself inside.

She took a seat on his unmade bed and turned her swirly green eyes to him. "We're going to Bevelle today. Do you remember what you promised me before we left?"

Gippal scratched his chin thoughtfully. "Uh...oh yeah! I remember now," he replied, groaning the last three words.

Rikku smiled at him, "Glad to hear it. Make sure you give yourself up to me for the _entire_ day."

Gippal sighed. "Alright, alright," he grunted before dragging himself into the now vacant bathroom to get ready.

"Hiya Rikku," said Tidus as he came out of the bathroom.

"Hi," replied Rikku. As she turned to leave, she suddenly remembered something, making her stop dead in her tracks and turn around. "Tidus, did anyone mention to you what day it is today?"

Tidus shook his head. "No, why?"

Rikku placed a hand on her hip. "Because its Yunie's birthday today!"

"What?" exclaimed Tidus, shock and surprise evident on his face and voice.

"Shh!" hushed Rikku, holding her index finger over her lips. "We've already decided to treat Yunie to dinner tonight at a fancy restaurant of her choice, so dress nicely. We've made reservations for six o'clock. But you can still make plans with her before then. Spend the afternoon with her and make her day a special one. The rest of us will probably be busy finding her a present. I'm sure you'll think of something in the next hour and a half," smiled Rikku before heading back to her room.

As the group sat in the waiting area of the airport, Tidus' mind was reeling with all sorts of thoughts. He couldn't believe that Rikku, or anyone else for that matter, didn't tell him sooner. Now, he only had the plane ride to Bevelle to plan a romantic birthday surprise for Yuna. He glanced over at her and felt a lump form in his throat. This was the very first birthday he'll spend with her and he truly wanted to make it a memorable one. But how on earth was he suppose to come up with something in half an hours time?

_"Attention to all passengers going on flight 220 to Bevelle, please begin making your way to boarding gate number 19 now. Thank you."_

Everyone got up and headed towards the departure gates. They didn't have to wait in line due to the fact that Yuna was a famous celebrity and the airport security didn't want people to mob her, although nothing like that has happened since they were in Kilika. Because of what happened there, Seymour had hired extra bodyguards to be around them at all times. He had told them to not make any big scenes or cause any commotions around Yuna so the bodyguards were 'hidden' around the party, which is why no one actually knows about them except for Seymour. That was also the reason why they have been free of all reporters and fans during all this time. Once they got let into the terminal, Seymour handed out the tickets to each person. Much to Yuna and Tidus' disappointment, they weren't sitting together. Yuna would be sitting next to Seymour in one row, Calli, Lulu and Wakka were behind them, and Tidus would be in the row behind those three with Rikku and Gippal. Tidus sighed quietly to himself then looked over at Rikku. Perhaps it wasn't such a bad thing after all not being able to sit with Yuna just this one time.

"Rikku, you have to help me," pleaded Tidus as the plane began backing up.

The Al Bhed smiled at him, "Of course I'll help you, I want Yunie to be happy too you know. So, do you have anything in mind?"

The blitzer sighed and shook his head, "Nothing yet."

"Don't worry, with me helping you, Yunie's birthday this year will be the best!" replied Rikku excitedly.

"I hope so," said Tidus, his spirits lifting slightly.

"It will be. You're forgetting who I am," said Rikku confidently. "I'm probably the one person in all of Spira who knows the most about her because, not only are we cousins, we're also the bestest of best friends as well."

Tidus grinned at her, "Thanks. So when did you guys plan the dinner for her without me knowing anything about it?"

"Yesterday at Mount Gagazet," replied Rikku. "You weren't there though 'cause you were bringing Calli back."

Half an hour later, they landed in Bevelle National Airport. The hotel they were staying in, The Bevellian, was the grandest hotel around. During the evening, a water show would take place in the vast pond built in front of the hotel, attracting many tourists and even locals to gather every night. A set of gold plated French doors at the entrance, which had two tall men opening and closing them, grandly welcomed all it's guests. The interior was even more impressive. A gigantic crystal chandelier hung from the middle of the lobby and the dark, shiny marble floors gently reflected its light. A large, round clock was set into the floor with a piece of thick glass covering it and a small fountain that had a lady holding a vase with water cascading out of it was set off in a corner.

Everyone gazed around their surroundings in awe as Seymour went to the front desk to get their room keys. Their rooms were the largest and most luxurious ones the hotel had to offer. Yuna slid the key card into the lock and opened the door. Their luggages had already been brought up by a bellboy and were neatly lined against the two king sized beds.

"Wow!" exclaimed Rikku as she jumped onto one of the soft beds. "This room is huge!"

Indeed, their room was quite large. Directly across from the door was an oakwood table and two crème coloured armchairs to accompany it. Immediately to the right of the entrance was a closet with a sliding mirror door. On the opposite side of the closet were numerous drawers and shoe racks. Behind the table and drawers sat the two king sized beds and to the right of the beds was the bathroom. A balcony was also present, located in between the beds and the table, and had a great view of the main part of the city.

"It sure is," agreed Yuna. She pulled back the glass doors to the balcony and stepped outside into the breezy atmosphere of Bevelle. Yuna took a seat on one of the chairs and surveyed the scenery around her while a gentle wind whipped through her chestnut hair.

"Sorry Yunie, but I'm leaving you for a few hours now. I need to get some shopping done and find you a nice gift. Gippal's already promised he would come with me. I'll see you at dinner tonight though," said Rikku, giving Yuna a quick hug. As she was about to head out the door, she turned around and smiled mischievously, "Boy are you going to have a wonderful time here today."

Yuna tilted her head to one side and gave her cousin a puzzling look. But all Rikku did was smile before going to take Gippal hostage for the day. Not long after, a knock sounded on the door and Yuna went to answer it.

"Hey Yuna," said Tidus happily. "How would you like to go and take a look around Bevelle with me?"

Yuna smiled at him, "I'd love that."

Together, they took the elevator down to the main floor and walked out the doors being held open by two men. Bevelle had changed quite a bit over the last few years. Infact, it now resembled Luca to some degree. Countless shops now clutter the busy streets and there were many cafes and hotels here and there. It was no longer "fortress-like" but more of an actual tourist attraction. The city had expanded itself out more and is now about twice the size of Luca. Bevelle is also the city that produces the most exquisite crystals in all of Spira.

"Bevelle really has changed a lot," commented Yuna. "It's nothing like I used to remember it."

"You've been to Bevelle before?" asked Tidus.

"I was born here," replied Yuna simply.

They continued to tour the pebble streets of the city for the next hour, checking out nifty things in the shops before deciding to stop for lunch at a cafe. As they waited for their food at a small, circular table underneath a large umbrella, they spotted two familiar people heading in their direction.

"Come on Gippal, hurry up. I'm hungry!" urged Rikku as she pulled on his hand.

"Easy for you to say, you're not carrying anything!" protested her boyfriend, who was staggering under the weight of all the shopping bags in his hands as well as the ones strewn all over his arms.

"Rikku, Gippal!" called Yuna, waving her hand in the air.

The two Al Bhed's took a seat at the table with Yuna and Tidus much to Gippal's relief. He was extremely happy to ditch the few hundred tons of clothes, jewelry, shoes, and much more for a little while.

"Looks like you got lots of shopping done," smiled Yuna, eyeing the shopping bags Gippal had just put onto the floor.

Rikku nodded ecstatically. "I didn't think I'd find so many things I'd like! And I also found you the perfect presents, Yunie. I know you'll like them. One of them is even one of a kind," she added with a sly grin.

Soon, their lunches arrived and the four of them dug in. Not even twenty minutes later, Rikku had dragged Gippal off again to continue scavenging the streets. Gippal gave Yuna and Tidus a "save me" look before disappearing in the throngs of people walking around. A while later, Yuna and Tidus also resumed their pleasant stroll around. As they walked past the last of the gift shops, Yuna stopped and turned to view at something on display.

"It's beautiful," breathed Yuna, delicately touching the window with her fingers.

Tidus followed her gaze and found himself staring at a pastel pink crystal heart embedded with tiny blue and green star shaped gems. Glancing over at Yuna again, a smile played across his lips. Finally, the perfect plan had just formed itself in his mind.

"Yuna, I'm really sorry but I have to go do something really important right now," said Tidus. "Take a look around the temple or try out some of the ice cream here. But whatever you do, don't go back to the hotel until one hour later, okay?"

"Oh, yeah, alright," replied Yuna, slightly crestfallen. "But why?"

"You'll see why later. I can't tell you right now. Just promise me you won't," said Tidus urgently.

Yuna nodded before Tidus took off into the crowd of people. Sighing to herself, she turned and walked towards the temple. After exploring the interior of the temple and visiting the stone carving of Bahamut in the chamber of the fayth, she stopped at an ice cream parlor outside and got some green tea flavoured ice cream. Yuna sat down on a bench and spooned some ice cream into her mouth. _I wonder what's so important that he'd just take off like that. And why can't I go back to my room before one hour? _she thought as she absent mindedly ate her ice cream. After finishing, she checked her small wrist watch. _It's been more than an hour already. Maybe I should head back now, there's nothing more to do anyways._

Yuna slid her key card into the slot and entered her room. As she rounded the corner to the beds, a beautiful case on her pillow caught her eye. Yuna walked over and picked up the soft-green velvet box. Taking off the teal coloured ribbon tied around it, she opened it. A soft gasp left her lips as she stared at it's content. It was the same crystal heart she had saw earlier on display. Yuna carefully took out the heart and noticed a slip of paper fall from under it. She picked it up and as she read it, a smile spread across her lips.

_Yuna,_

_Happy birthday my beautiful princess. I know you really like this crystal heart so I wanted to give it to you on your special day. Meet me at the front of the hotel by the pond at 5 o'clock this afternoon._

_Tidus _

Yuna checked her silver watch, 4:45. Carefully tucking the note and heart back into the velvet case, she tucked it into a safe place inside her suitcase. Then, Yuna replaced her watch with a beaded bracelet and changed into an ankle length, teal coloured dress that had a slit going up to her mid-thigh on one side, then slipped on a pair of silver high heeled sandals. Closing the door behind her, Yuna began walking towards the pond outside. A crowd had already begun gathering around the pool of water, waiting for the start of the water show. Yuna scanned the people around her.

"Tidus," called Yuna brightly when she spotted him.

He turned and flashed her a smile, "Yuna."

When Yuna reached him, Tidus handed her a bouquet of two dozen red roses which Yuna took happily.

"Thank you Tidus," smiled Yuna radiantly as she gave him a hug.

"You look very beautiful tonight," said Tidus, returning her hug.

They watched the jets of water dance in the pond to the music playing in the background for a while, then started walking off hand in hand. Once they reached an area that was more secluded, they ceased their walking. The peacefully setting sun was casting a golden glow around their surroundings and the mild heat given off was quite relaxing. Tidus turned to face Yuna.

"Not only did I want to give you these roses, I also wanted to give you, the one person who I want to stand by, care for, and protect forever, my heart" said Tidus gently as he took both her hands into his.

Yuna looked deeply into his eyes. "You mean, the crystal heart?" she whispered quietly.

Tidus nodded and pulled her into a hug. Never in her entire life had she felt so happy. Never in her entire life had she ever loved someone so much. Without saying a single word to the other, they watched the sunset in each others arms. They watched the horizon turn orangey-red, then purple and pink, and finally a blue that got gradually darker with each passing minute.

"We should head back now, your birthday dinner will start soon," said Tidus as he glanced at his watch.

While they strolled towards the restaurant, Yuna noticed a card sticking out of the bouquet. "What's this?" she asked.

"The conclusion to your birthday with me," replied Tidus with a grin. "But don't read it until after dinner."

Yuna smiled at him, curiosity nagging lightly at her already. "By the way, how did you get into my room to give me the- your heart?"

"When I left you, I went to find Rikku. It wasn't too hard considering the amount of bags Gippal was carrying with him; he was cutting a wide path through the crowd. Then I asked her for her key card to your room after I told her what I was planning on doing," he replied with a grin. "After that, I went back to the gift shop and purchased the only heart the store had. They told me it was the only one ever made. I got them to wrap it very nicely for me because you only deserve the most beautiful things in life."

"You went through all that trouble so you could plan all this, just for me?" asked Yuna softly.

Tidus nodded, "You're worth all the trouble in the world, remember?"

Rising onto her tiptoes, she gently brushed her lips with his. Tidus wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her closer, deepening the kiss. Soon, they withdrew from each other and resumed their walk.

The restaurant came into view shortly after and they saw part of the group waiting for them at the entrance.

"Yunie!" squealed Rikku energetically as she came bouncing towards her best friend and threw her arms around her.

"Rikku!" cried Yuna as she took a few steps back to regain her balance.

"Come on you two, time to go in ya," called Wakka.

After feasting on delicious food, everyone showered Yuna with presents.

"Open mine first!" yelled Rikku.

Yuna unwrapped the silver wrapping paper to reveal a satin box. She opened it and found a set of necklace, bracelets, and earrings beaded with pink, lavender, and blue crystals shaped liked flowers. On top of the jewelry, Rikku had gotten a specially made key chain for Yuna. It was made of sterling silver and had the word 'Yunie' in block letters hanging from the key ring.

"It's gorgeous," breathed Yuna. "Thanks."

Lulu and Wakka had gotten her a brand new navy blue coloured flip phone that had just hit stores the past few days. Gippal gave Yuna a gift certificate to Swiss European Spa and Salon and Calli got Yuna a beautifully carved mahogany jewelry box. Being the riches of them all, Seymour had gotten the most expensive gift. He handed Yuna a small box wrapped in gold paper. Yuna opened it and pulled out a silver key.

"A car key?" said Yuna, unable to believe what Seymour had given her.

"That's right. I got you a brand new car. It's waiting back in Besaid for you to pick up," replied Seymour with a smile. He then shot Tidus a triumphant look. "And what did _you_ get Yuna?"

"Tidus gave me his present in advance," Yuna put in. "It was the most special gift anyone could ever have given me," she added as she glanced over at Tidus with a smile.

"If everyone's ready," said Lulu before turning around to wave at a waiter, who nodded and disappeared into the kitchen. A moment later, he came back with a large birthday cake and set it down in front of Yuna. Then he lit the two number candles on it, which were in the shape of a '1' and a '9'.

"Happy nineteenth birthday Yuna," the group chorused together.

"Make a wish Yunie!" Rikku squealed excitedly.

Yuna clasped her hands together and examined the specially made rectangular cake. Flowers made of icing lined the bottom right corner and an assortment of fresh fruits were grouped decoratively in the top left corner with fragments of white and milk chocolate pieces accompanying the fruits and flowers. In the center was a handwritten message that read 'Happy Birthday Yuna'. Powdered cocoa was sprinkled very lightly across the surface and fine shavings of hazel nut chocolate lined the sides of the cake. Whipped cream bordering the entire edge of the cake completed it. After making her wish, she blew out the candles and cut the ice cream cake.

Once everyone was done chatting and feasting, it was well past eight o'clock. Due to the shopping sprees everyone had done that day, whether it was for Yuna's birthday present or for themselves, the word tired applied to almost every single person. As the group was heading back to their hotel rooms, Yuna hung behind a little so she could read the note in her flowers. She smiled as she scanned the letter Tidus wrote to her and quickly headed back towards her room, unknowing that someone else had just also read the contents of the letter behind her shoulder, hidden in the dark.

It was time for the mission to take place.

* * *

And that was chapter 14. I hope you all enjoyed it. Who read the letter in the dark? What is this mission? I will answer one of those questions in the next chapter. Meanwhile, PLEASE REVIEW! You guys have been so good with reviewing and I highly appreciate them. Till next chapter :) 


	15. Heartbroken

A/N: Hey everyone! Thanks for the reviews! Okay, so this chapter is the beginning to my plot twists. But only the beginning. The tables will turn many times in the coming chapters. Things may not be as they seem... You will just have to wait and see. I have also put many dividing lines in this chapter. They are only there for the purposes of making events clearer incase I confuse any of you because I do switch from person to person as you will see. Also, you will find out what this mission is. So, I won't keep you from this chapter any longer! Enjoy!

* * *

Yuna slid in her key card and pushed open the wooden door. She rounded the corner and found Rikku waiting patiently for her on her bed. 

"So, what was it that Tidus gave you?" Rikku asked curiously.

Yuna opened her suitcase and pulled out the velvet box. "This," she replied as she opened it.

Rikku's eyes almost doubled in size when she saw what it was. "It's _so_ pretty!"

"He said he wanted to give me his heart," Yuna said softly, taking the crystal out of it's case and cradling it in the palm of her hands.

"Aww! That is so sweet of him," said Rikku with a grin. "Sounds like you found yourself a great guy Yunie."

Yuna beamed at Rikku as she replaced her bracelet with her watch once again and took a seat next to her best friend on the large mattress. "So how are you and Gippal doing?"

"Well," began Rikku happily.

Yuna listened to her cousin for a while, soaking in what had been happening between the two Al Bhed's the past four weeks. When Rikku finally finished, both girls were giggling quietly amongst themselves.

"I guess he got a taste of what 'slavery shopping' feels like today," Yuna beamed jokingly.

"Hehe," laughed Rikku as she scratched her cheek lightly with her index finger. "So Yunie, when are you planning on letting everyone know about you and Tidus?"

"I...don't really know yet," replied Yuna quietly.

Rikku let out an irritated sigh, "That Seymour's a good for nothing jerk."

Letting her azure and jade eyes wander freely around their room, they fell upon the clock hanging on the wall. "Oh, I totally forgot!" gasped Yuna as she hurriedly threw on a light jacket and a pair of flip flops before dashing out the door, the crystal heart still clutched tightly in her right hand.

* * *

Calli paced around in front of the pond outside the hotel nervously, her mind buzzing wildly. Of all the things she could have ever imagined, she'd never had thought she would have to do this. She couldn't believe it, but she couldn't deny it either. Squeezing her dark brown eyes shut, she tried to calm herself down. But it was no use. Everytime she allowed herself to clear her mind of all thoughts, it would wander back to the conversation she had not even an hour ago and she would panic all over again. _Maybe I should take a walk around. It might help me forget for a while or at least give my mind something else to think about, _Calli thought to herself. 

Taking a deep breath, she started down one of the many pebble streets of Bevelle. Before long, her subconscious mind took over her walking, for her conscious mind was buzzing with thoughts once again.

* * *

Tidus hung up the lantern on a tree branch and set down the two nets he had brought with him. Today had already worked out perfectly. His surprise present for Yuna and watching the sunset with her had turned out just the way he had planned it to be. Now, all that was left was tonight. If tonight also turns out the way he wants, his intentions to make Yuna's birthday a memorable one will be a complete success. Getting back to work, Tidus opened a large jar filled with fireflies, letting them loose around the forest. 

"Okay, they should be able to disperse over this large area by the time Yuna gets here," he muttered to himself.

Suddenly, some rustling of the bushes could be heard behind him and he tensed up a bit. Tidus quickly turned around and scanned his shadowy surroundings. There was no way Yuna could be here yet. He still had some time to spare and he had told her to meet him at the edge of the forest, not inside.

But it wasn't Yuna who emerged from behind the trees.

It was Calli.

* * *

Yuna skipped down the stone steps outside the hotel and headed towards the edge of the woods. She took a quick glance at her watch and picked up her pace. There was no way she would make it there on time but at least she wouldn't be too late.

* * *

"Calli, what are you doing here," asked Tidus, relaxing his tensed muscles.

Tidus' voice startled her, snapping her out of her thoughts. "Where am I? How'd I get here?" she asked nervously.

Tidus cautiously walked towards the girl. "Are you okay?"

"I-I..." she blurted out repeatedly, shaking her head.

"What happened Calli? You're shaking."

Looking down at her hands and legs, she found them trembling uncontrollably. Slowly looking up at him, she felt a pang of fear deep inside her, causing her to abruptly looked away, unable to meet his gaze anymore. She felt her knees go weak and herself go numb. Why? Why did she have to do such a horrible thing?

Calli began sobbing.

"Calli?" asked Tidus softly, concerned about the girl standing before him.

She felt herself give way and her hands instantly clung onto the front of his shirt firmly as a means of support, crying into his shoulder. Shocked by her sudden reaction, Tidus stood there for a moment, not knowing what he should do. Then, gently placing a hand on her shoulder, he tried to calm her down.

* * *

As the thick trees finally loomed into view, Yuna slowed down slightly and began looking around her surroundings. She was suppose to meet Tidus here but he was nowhere to be seen. She checked her watch again, 9:45. She was fifteen minutes late. _Maybe Tidus decided to wait for me deeper in the woods instead, or maybe he thought I went on inside without him. _Wrapping her jacket around herself tightly, Yuna began carefully walking into the forest. After walking about a metre, a lantern caught her eye in the near distance and Yuna stepped towards it. As she neared it, she spotted a dark figure in a small clearing up ahead. _It must be Tidus,_ she thought with a smile and strolled towards it.

* * *

"Everythings alright," soothed Tidus quietly.

But Calli continued to sob heavily, causing her whole body to shake violently. Tidus furrowed his brows. She wouldn't tell him what was bothering her or stop crying. Looking over her shoulder, he checked his watch. Tidus let out a sigh mentally. Now what was he suppose to do? He couldn't just ditch Calli but he was suppose to meet Yuna twenty minutes ago. Letting out another mental sigh, he decided to deal with what was facing him right now.

"Calli, I can't help you unless you tell me what's wrong," Tidus tried again. His hand was still resting on her shoulder, which he rubbed lightly in an attempt to calm her down.

* * *

Nearing the clearing, Yuna could now visibly see the once dark figure. Stopping dead in her tracks, a soft gasp left her lips. She couldn't believe what she was witnessing. She felt her heart tear into shreds as tears welled up in her eyes. _No, this can't be happening,_ she thought as tears spilled down her cheeks. She felt her hands go limp and she dropped the object she had been holding all this time. The crystal heart made contact with the ground and shattered into a million pieces. Yuna turned and ran back through the woods, blinded by her tears.

* * *

Tidus heard a noise in the shadows and instantly let go of Calli and backed away. "Yuna?" he called out into the darkness.

Silence.

He checked his watch once again. It was 10 o'clock. _I guess Yuna got tired of waiting for me and went back to the hotel, _he thought with a sigh. _There's nothing I can do about it now. I'll just have to make it up to her somehow._

"Calli, are you okay now," asked Tidus once more.

By now, Calli had calmed down considerably. She nodded, still sobbing.

"I'm going to take you back to the hotel now," he stated, grabbing the lantern, jar, and nets before leading her back.

* * *

Rikku had just put on her facial mask when a knock sounded on the door. She opened it to find her best friend in tears. 

"Yunie!" cried Rikku, quickly letting her inside and then sitting her down on her bed. "What happened? Are you hurt?"

Yuna looked up at her cousin and threw her arms around Rikku, allowing her tears to fall freely from her jade and cobalt eyes. Returning the hug instantly, Rikku cast a side glance at Yuna. Two emotions were running through Rikku right now, worry and anger. When she finds out who did this to her best friend, they're going to pay. Big time.

* * *

After Tidus dropped off Calli outside her room, he headed back to his own room. She drew in a few deep breaths before opening the door. Flicking on the lights to illuminate her room, she gasped loudly. Someone was already waiting there for her.

* * *

Tidus set down the stuff he had brought back in a corner and sat down on his bed. His conclusion for Yuna's birthday had been ruined because of Calli and he still didn't know what had upset her so much. He wanted to go find Yuna and apologize but he didn't want to disturb her either. It was nearly eleven already and chances are, she would be in bed by now.

"How was your date with Yuna?" asked Gippal as he walked out of the bathroom.

"My plans with Yuna tonight didn't happen," Tidus sighed disappointedly.

"Whoa, what happened man?" Gippal questioned.

"Something suddenly came up right before I was suppose to meet with her and I couldn't get away from it," replied Tidus.

Gippal patted Tidus on the shoulder, "Hey, don't worry about it. Just explain what happened to her. I'm sure she'll understand. Yuna's a very forgiving person you know."

"I hope so," Tidus sighed again. _Especially since it has to do with Calli and I know Yuna doesn't entirely trust her yet,_ he thought as he fell back onto his bed and stared up at the ceiling. Soon, he drifted off to sleep, still thinking about how he would explain everything to Yuna.

* * *

"Yunie," Rikku voiced softly. "Do you want to talk about it now?" 

Yuna gently pulled away from Rikku and wiped her cheeks with the back of her hands. Rikku reached over and grabbed the box of kleenex sitting on the table between their beds and handed it to her cousin.

"I was going to meet with Tidus because he said he had another surprise for me," she said quietly, with soft sobs here and there. As she spoke, she fidgeted with the kleenex in her hands. "But I was late and I couldn't find him where we were suppose to meet so I decided to go look for him inside the forest. I saw a light a little ways in and decided to follow it. But when I arrived I saw him with..."

Yuna closed her eyes and tried to stop the fresh tears that threatened to spill down her cheeks. Rikku put an arm around her cousin's shoulder. She had never seen Yuna so sad in her entire life.

Taking in a shaky breath, Yuna continued in a barely audible whisper, "Calli."

The Al Bhed girl's eyes tripled in size. Of all the people in Spira Tidus could have been seen with, it had to be the one girl Yuna didn't feel very comfortable with: Calli. She looked over at her cousin, who had buried her face in a kleenex and was now sobbing quietly. Rikku felt her heart break to see her best friend so sad. The urge to storm over and smack Tidus a few times was very strong but she knew Yuna needed her right now.

"Yunie, I'm so sorry," Rikku whispered and then felt herself want to cry when she caught a glimpse of Yuna's puffy red eyes. "I'll always be here for you so if you ever want to talk, need a hug, or a shoulder to cry on, don't hesitate okay?"

Yuna nodded before embracing the Al Bhed again. She was glad she had Rikku as her best friend.

* * *

Calli's mind was in a daze. What had happened earlier in the woods tonight was very clear to _them_ and they were very mad at her. She could have ruined everything. To make up for her mistake and to insure nothing like this would happen every again in the future, she was ordered to complete the mission by tonight. 

There was no way out of it.

_"Strike at midnight,"_ they had told her. Calli glanced at the digital clock on the table, 11:50. Getting up from the chair, Calli grabbed the thin, narrow case they had given her. She quietly slipped out of her room and walked down the hallway to the second door on her right.

Searching in the pocket of the black suit she was now wearing, she pulled out the extra key card she had received from them and slid it through the lock. Careful as to not make a sound, Calli crept silently into the darkened room. She set down the case and opened it. As she pulled out the dagger with a gloved hand, fear enveloped her just like it had earlier today. Pushing any thoughts and feelings out of her mind, she slowly advanced towards the bed closest to her. She could see the figure lying beneath the covers and their rhythmic breathing that made the blanket rise and fall gently. As she stood over the figure, Calli ceased her walking and looked down at her victim. As soon as she laid her eyes on their face, she quickly looked away. Her heart began pounding faster, echoing inside her head deafeningly. Raising the blade into the air, she was oblivious to the violent shaking of her hands. A huge lump had formed in her throat and she swallowed hard, trying to make the uncomfortable feeling go away.

But it wouldn't.

Sweat had begun forming along her hairline and slowly trickled down her temple. Her breathing also became more deep and irregular. _I have to do this,_ she thought. But in reality, she had never been more frightened in her life. She didn't want to do it, but she didn't want to go against them either. Calli closed her eyes. _I can't,_ she thought. Her fear was eating her alive. She knew she would never be able to go through with this. The knife slid out of her grip and landed on the carpet floor with a soft thud.

She needed to get away.

As she turned to flee from her failed mission, something wrapped itself around Calli's wrist, causing her to stop dead in her tracks. Horror clutched her heart and for a moment, she stopped breathing. Ever so slowly, she turned around to look at her wrist and found a hand holding onto it. Looking up, she saw the dark figure whose hand it belonged to. Letting out a gasp of pure terror, Calli felt her blood run cold.

* * *

And that was chapter 15. Now, all of you who read this, please, please review! Come on, press that button at the bottom. Please? You want to know what happens next right? I know you do! Don't deny it! lol. Till next chapter :) 


	16. Best Friends Forever

A/N: Hey everyone! I'm back with a new chapter! Yes, I know its been forever since I last updated but I have been _extremely_ busy with school and will continue to be until the end of the year. Now, some of you asked me questions either in a review or private messaged them to me but I can only answer a few of them for now. As you should all know, Yuna just turned 19. Rikku is about half a year younger than her. Both Tidus and Gippal are 19 going onto 20, so they're a little more than half a year older than Yuna. Lulu is 38 and Wakka is in his early fourties. Calli is 20 and Seymour is around 25. As for careers, Yuna's, Tidus', Lulu's, Wakka's, and Seymour's have already been stated in my earlier chapters. Rikku and Gippal are both students attending university. As for Calli, I will let you know in the coming chapters. And now for appearances of the characters. Usually, especially if its a formaller event, I will describe what they wear and what they look like. If I don't tell you, you can assume that they're wearing casual stuff like jeans and a shirt. In my story, Gippal doesn't wear an eye-patch and Seymour doesn't have such big, long hair; its shorter in all aspects. I know some of you are worried that I won't finish this story. I'll tell you this: as long as I'm getting the amount of reviews I want and the inspirations keep coming to me, I will keep writing.

I know that I've been leaving cliffhangers here and there, but as much as you guys want to know who Calli was suppose to kill, it will remain a mystery until later. Don't worry, you will find out in due time. I also want to thank my fabulous reviewers. I can't believe I have well over eleven thousand hits and nearly three hundred reviews! You guys are the best! To make up for the long wait, I have made this the longest chapter so far. And for those who are reading this, I hope you all had a great Christmas and a happy New Year! Before you begin reading, I just want to note that the Zanarkand they go to is like the one Tidus came from. Now, onward with this chapter!

* * *

The following morning was a fairly cloudy one, and matched some of the group member's mood. Yuna and Rikku had barely slept last night. Out of those two girls however, Yuna got more sleep than Rikku did. Yuna had spent most the evening crying on her cousin's shoulder and the Al Bhed had been there to comfort her. After Yuna had fallen asleep around two in the morning, Rikku was still wide awake. She still couldn't get over how hurt her best friend was. In the now nineteen years that Rikku had known her, she had never seen Yuna so wistful before and that made Rikku sad and angry at the same time. She was going to set things straight with Tidus as soon as she could. But she would have to lash out at him when Yuna wasn't around. If she found out what Rikku was planning to do, she would definitely stop her. 

As Rikku was stuffing her final belongings into her bag, Yuna came out of the bathroom after taking a shower. Although she spent almost an hour in there trying to freshen up, she still looked extremely tired and worn out. There were visible bags under her eyes, not to mention they were still a bit puffy and red from crying so much, and her skin was pale and dull looking.

"How are you feeling, Yunie?" Rikku asked, her voice full of concern. Although she had gotten less sleep, Rikku had worn her facial mask all night so her skin was in pretty good condition.

"Exhausted," Yuna replied softly as she sat down on her bed.

The Al Bhed plopped herself down next to her, "I've already packed your bags for you. Do you want to go down to breakfast with me?"

Yuna shook her head, "I look like a mess. I don't want to be seen like this."

"Don't worry, I'll get us some room service then," said Rikku. "What do you want for breakfast?"

"Mainly hash browns. And maybe an apple strudel too," she replied.

Rikku picked up the phone and began calling the front desk for their in-bed breakfast. After a few rings, someone picked up on the other end.

"Hi, I'd like some breakfast brought up to room 707 please," Rikku told the man on the other end of the phone. "I want a plate of hash browns, five apple strudels, two ham and cheese omelets, and two glasses of spring water. Oh, and throw in two grapefruits too. I also want lots of ketchup and sugar on the side."

"I want some cold tea bags too," Yuna whispered from beside her.

"And some cold tea bags," Rikku added. "No, I don't want tea, just some tea bags. And make sure they're cold. On second thought, maybe I do want some...add a pot of English breakfast tea on to all that as well. Yes, that should be everything. Thanks."

She hung up the phone and turned to face Yuna. "That should just about do it."

Yuna smiled lightly, "That's a lot of food for just the two of us you know."

Rikku smiled and shrugged. "We're not the ones who have to pay for it anyways; Seymour will take care of it. I'll call Gippal and tell him to let the others know that we're not going down for breakfast," Rikku added as she picked up the phone again.

Soon, room service came knocking on their door and Rikku brought the food inside. She set the trays down on the table where Yuna was already seated. Pulling out another chair, Rikku sat down and grabbed a hash brown, spread some ketchup on top, and handed it to Yuna.

"Whenever I feel down, I always order a whole bunch of food and feast away at it like there's no tomorrow. I find it helps me cheer up," Rikku said as she poured both of them a cup of hot tea.

"I know, you always do that whenever you and Gippal get into some kind of argument," Yuna said, giving her best friend a weak smile before taking a bite out of her hash brown.

Rikku scanned Yuna's face and she noted the sadness in her jade and azure eyes. _Tidus really hurt her,_ Rikku thought unhappily.

"So where are we heading now?" asked Rikku, breaking the silence.

"To the city that never sleeps... Zanarkand," replied Yuna quietly.

Rikku watched her cousin's face for a moment. Then it hit her. _Oh yeah! Tidus was born there,_ she thought after finally remembering. Rikku creased her brows. This was not the best time for Yuna to be visiting that place.

"Um, Yunie?" Rikku asked timidly.

Yuna looked over at her best friend. "Hmm?"

"I really think that you should maybe talk to Tidus," Rikku replied awkwardly. She knew she didn't make sense entirely, but she felt her resolve to tell Yuna to talk to him melt away half way through her sentence when she remembered how hurt she had been just last night.

Yuna remained silent and continued eating her breakfast. After finishing their food, Yuna lay down on her bed and placed the cold tea bags over her eyes. Rikku watched her curiously.

"They're really good for deflating puffy eyes," Yuna replied when she sensed Rikku shuffling about her.

"Oh," Rikku stated simply, nodding to indicate she understood, although Yuna couldn't see her.

Soon, Seymour came knocking on their door to tell them it was time to head to the airport. As the limo pulled up next to the curb at the airport, everyone poured out and gathered their baggages. Seymour was about to hand out the tickets when Yuna spoke up.

"I want to sit with Rikku," she told Seymour.

Tidus looked at her in surprise and tried to make eye contact with her but Yuna wasn't looking at him. Infact, she strolled right past him without even so much as a smile or hello.

"Yuna," began Tidus but she had already walked on ahead with Rikku and Gippal. _Is she mad at me?_ He thought, feeling slightly crestfallen.

When the rest of the party received their boarding passes, Tidus ran to the waiting area, hoping to be able to talk with Yuna. He spotted her sitting next to Gippal and was about to take a seat on her other side when Rikku beat him to it.

"Rikku-" he started but stopped when he received a dirty look from her. _Is she mad at me too?_ He thought in dismay.

Letting out a sigh, he went over to sit with Lulu and Wakka, and was shortly joined by Calli. He could understand why Yuna was mad at him but why was Rikku acting even more livid than she was? He didn't do anything to her. Casting a look over at Yuna, he found her talking to Rikku quietly. Then, he looked away abruptly when he saw Rikku glare at him. Tidus felt his spirit sink.

"At least Rikku still _looks_ at me," he muttered to himself glumly.

Rikku had glared and cast dirty looks countless times at him all morning, but Yuna was acting as if he was completely invisible. But there was something even more obvious Tidus had noticed. Yuna was wearing a fair bit of make up today and she was usually the type that barely wore any at all. The only other time he had really noticed her with a little more make up on was during the dance at Guado Day and even then it was barely noticeable.

Soon, the airplane took of into the air with its passengers all aboard, heading towards Zanarkand. Yuna was sitting with Rikku and Gippal, Tidus was seated next to Lulu and Wakka, and Seymour was sitting beside Calli.

"How're you holding up?" Rikku asked her cousin.

"I don't know..." Yuna replied softly. "My minds really confused and I'm not sure what I want to do."

Rikku scanned Yuna's face. She was very concerned about her best friend but she didn't know what she could do to help ease Yuna's pain and confusion. She had tried to reason with Yuna at the airport earlier about talking to Tidus, but Rikku knew that she had been hurt pretty bad.

"Yunie," the Al Bhed said gently. "Maybe you don't realize it yet because you're right in the middle of all this chaos, but as an outsider to this situation, I can clearly see you still care a lot for him; I know he's really important to you."

Yuna looked up at her best friend for a brief moment before looking out the window at the bright blue sky and pearly white clouds.

Even though Yuna had said nothing, Rikku understood her completely. Such was the nature of their very close friendship.

Yuna had been avoiding Tidus all morning because she didn't want to face him. Not yet at least. If she was forced to deal with the situation in her condition, she might crumble and break or make a rash decision that she'd regret later and that was the last thing Rikku wanted to see happen to her best friend. All she could do right now was help Yuna pick up the pieces of her broken heart.

About an hour later, the limo pulled up next to the Ritz Zanarkand hotel and everyone retired to their rooms. After Rikku finished unpacking her belongings, she went and helped Yuna with her things.

"Thanks Rikku," Yuna said, giving her a weak smile.

"Don't mention it," replied Rikku, taking a seat on the bed next to her cousin. A moment of silence passed between them before Rikku spoke up again. "Yunie, I know you're hurting right now and that you're not ready to talk to him yet, but I really want to help you any way I can. If you can't work something out, tell me and we can try to figure it out together. If something's bothering you or if it hurts too much, talk to me about it. Yunie, you're my very best friend and I really don't want to you see like this anymore," she said softly, nearly on the verge of tears.

Yuna looked up at her. "Rikku..." whispered Yuna, grasping Rikku's hand. "I'm so glad you're my best friend."

"Me too," the Al Bhed whispered back. "_Because_ we're best friends, I want to help you through this. Yunie, tell me what happened again. We'll sort through things together."

Yuna nodded and took a deep breath. "I never imagined something like this would happen to me. I truly thought that he felt the same way I felt about him. He had planned his ideas for my birthday perfectly. At least it all seemed perfect. But I guess nothing in this world is really perfect. Along with two dozen roses, he even gave me his heart... We watched the sunset together then he told me he still had something else he wanted to do with me after dinner. I was supposed to meet him at the edge of the Macalania Woods. But...I saw him with _her_ instead. I've never felt so hurt and betrayed in my life. He had promised me that he wouldn't let anyone hurt me, but he's the one who's hurt me the most," she whispered as a single tear rolled down her cheek.

* * *

In a room three doors down, Tidus sighed loudly, "What am I suppose to do?" 

"Man, I've never seen her this mad before," said Gippal as he scratched the back of his head.

Tidus put his head into his hands and shook his head. "Even Rikku's mad at me," he said. "She won't let me anywhere near Yuna."

"I've got an idea," Gippal said with a smile. "I'll lure Rikku away from Yuna and then you can go and talk to her."

A grin spread across his face. "Thanks, I owe you one," Tidus said happily.

* * *

After four rings, someone finally picked up on the other end. "Hello?" 

"It's me," the caller replied.

"Ahh, do you have good news? Is it, complete?" came a husky voice.

"No, but it seems we may not have to resort to that," the first person said calmly.

"Oh?"

"Yes, we should thank our pawn after all. If it were not for them, we would still have quite a problem."

"I see," they told the caller. "As long as everything works out perfectly in the end, it does not concern me how much or what we have to do."

"I agree."

The second voice laughed lightly, "I still don't really understand why you're doing this."

"I have my reasons and it isn't any of your business," they snapped. "We are after the same thing, aren't we? Our goal is B's child."

"Yes, I suppose we are. That's the main aspiration we both share. It's funny really, how we are cooperating like this and yet not know what the other is truly after. I don't know what you'll gain from all this, but as long as whatever _you're_ planning doesn't interfere with _my_ objective, I could really _care_ less about why you're involved. You can keep this secret business of yours a secret all you want," the recipient replied coldly.

The first voice chuckled. "I intend to do just that. My intentions shall be kept a secret just like you are doing with your own."

"But you know I _am_ getting a bit impatient with all this waiting. You've had _more_ than a month already," they retorted irritably.

"We must not be hasty about this. Everything has to be perfect. We cannot leave anything that can be traced back to us. No rash decisions must be made. You do want to succeed, don't you?"

The second voice sighed, knowing the person whom they were conversing with was right.

"I will contact you again," the caller told them before letting the receiver fall back into its cradle.

* * *

"Yunie, think about it. Do you really want to let things be the way they are now?" Rikku asked. 

Yuna remained silent.

"Come on, you should at least try to talk to him," the Al Bhed urged.

Silence.

"He probably doesn't even know what is going on right now you know. He might be totally confused as to why you're ignoring him. After all, he never actually saw you from what you told me."

Nothing.

Rikku sighed in defeat. "Just make sure you do anything you'll regret, okay?"

"I guess you're right," Yuna finally said after a moment of silence. "I shouldn't let this chance pass me by."

"'Atta girl!" Rikku smiled.

Getting up from her bed, she sat down at the desk, picked up a pen and pulled a sheet of paper towards her. Yuna thought for a while before scribbling a brief message down. Folding up the parchment, she turned to face Rikku.

"Can you do me a favour and give this to Tidus for me?" Yuna asked.

"Of course. I'll just make a quick visit to Gippal and drop it off too," she replied before skipping off down the hall.

Stopping in front of the door three rooms down, she gave two loud knocks. A moment later, the door swung open and Gippal allowed his girlfriend inside. She turned her head left and right, trying to locate the man she was looking for.

"Where's Tidus?" she asked.

"He was on the phone with his parents a while ago. Seems they're taking a vacation of their own too and decided to come back to visit some old friends and relatives here in Zanarkand. Since Tidus happened to be in Zanarkand as well, they decided to catch up on what has been happening since he left with us," he replied, slinging an arm around Rikku's shoulders. "He's gone out to have lunch with them."

"When did he say he'll be back?" Rikku asked, looking down at the letter in her hand.

"Hey, did you come over to visit _him_ or _me_?" Gippal demanded. Although he meant it to sound like a joke, he couldn't help but wonder what the answer was to the question he had just asked. She _had_ been talking non-stop about Tidus the minute she came in after all.

Rikku shrugged off his arm and turned to face him. "Of course I'm here to visit you! I just need to give something to Tidus on behalf of Yunie," she countered, holding up the parchment to his face.

"Oh, I see," he said sheepishly. "He said that he would be back after lunch."

Rikku walked over to Tidus' bed and placed the letter on top of his pillow. Then, she grabbed a marker and wrote a message on a piece of paper before taping it to a vase. He would see the letter for sure when he got back. Gippal followed her and gave her a hug.

"I'm sorry Rikku. Don't be mad at me," he told her as he placed a kiss on her cheek.

She smiled at him. "I'm not mad. It's twelve thirty, I'm hungry."

"Okay, lunch is on me."

"I'll go see if Yunie wants to come along too," Rikku said before heading back down the hallway.

Sliding the card into the lock, she pushed open the door. "Yunie, do you want to have lunch with me and Gippal?" she asked.

"I'm talking to Lulu right now and she wants to know if we want to go have lunch with her," Yuna replied, the receiver still in her hand.

"Well, Gippal and I are both free," Rikku told her, taking a seat on another chair.

"Lulu? Rikku and Gippal are both free. Maybe we should all go together," Yuna suggested, speaking into the receiver. She listened for a while before speaking again. "Tell Wakka to come too. Okay, meet you in ten at the lobby. Bye."

As Yuna was grabbing her purse and everything else she needed, Rikku headed over to tell Gippal what was happening, then took the elevator down to the main floor together. Lulu and Wakka were already waiting for them on two of the many sofa chairs in the spacious lobby. As the trio approached the couple, they got up to meet with them.

"Where's Tidus?" Lulu asked after eyeing everyone who was present.

"His parents are in town and he went to have lunch with them," Gippal explained, placing both hands behind his head in a relaxed manner.

Yuna looked up at him but said nothing. As the group began making their way to a restaurant located at the corner of the block, she pulled Rikku behind a little.

"Did you give my note to him?" she asked in a quiet tone.

"Yeah! Well, not exactly," Rikku added after a few seconds. "I didn't give it to him in person. You heard Gippal. He wasn't there so I left it on his pillow. But don't worry; he'll see it for sure. I took precautious measures just incase. You see, I left this huge sign on the table saying that there's a letter on his bed," she reassured.

Yuna smiled at her. "Thanks Rikku."

"Don't mention it." the Al Bhed replied. She listened to the trio's conversation for a little while before a past memory came to her head and she turned to Yuna. "Yunie, do you remember what we promised each other many years back in school?" she asked with a smile.

"Of course I do. We promised each other that we'd never let anyone, _absolutely no one_, come in between our close friendship no matter what," she replied, also smiling.

Soon, they arrived at the restaurant and placed their orders. The waiter had especially placed them at a more private table that was located upstairs and outside, giving them the best view of the city the restaurant had to offer. Zanarkand is still the most technologically advanced city in all of Spira to this very day. The only part that was historical would be the Zanarkand Dome, where Lady Yunalesca used to dwell at the time of the Summoner's and Sin a thousand years ago. The Dome, which was located at the very edge of the city, attracted hundreds if not thousands of visitors each year during the only season that it was open to the public, summer. Although most who did visit that place were either historians or photographers, the buildings unique architect also drew a crowd of art lovers.

As everyone dug into their lunches and shared a light conversation, Yuna drifted off into her own thoughts. She couldn't help but wonder what it would be like to live in a metropolis like this. She had never been to Zanarkand before, but Tidus had grown up in all of this and yet he had never talked about it. A majority of the smartest engineers and scientists resided in this place not to mention the number of businessmen. On top of all that, this was also the city which produced the best blitzball players. Luca and Bevelle only came in second and third respectively to Zanarkand. She made a mental note to ask him more about his life here before joining into the conversation at the table and taking a bite out of her three-cheese baked penne pasta.

* * *

"Bye Mom, bye Dad," Tidus said, giving his mom a light hug. 

"Have fun on the rest of your vacation with your friends," his mom, Julia, told him. "If they're not too busy, invite them over to our place some time. I'd love to meet them."

The man standing next to her nodded in agreement. "See ya later," his father, Jecht, said before climbing into a cab with his wife.

After Tidus waved goodbye to the retreating taxi, he turned around and made his way back to the hotel. Stepping into the elevator, he pressed the number 7 on the panel. The metal doors slide open shortly after and he allowed himself into his room after unlocking the door. As soon as he stepped inside, a paper sign with a message scribbled in hot pink marker, taped onto a vase at the table caught his eye.

_TIDUS! THERE IS A LETTER FOR YOU ON YOUR BED. READ IT IMMEDIATELY!_

Heading over to his bed, he spotted the letter on his pillow. He picked it up and read it.

_Tidus,_

_I have some things I would like to talk to you about. Meet me at the Red Rose Café at 4 o'clock today. We can talk over coffee._

_Yuna_

A smile formed on his lips. Now he'll finally know why she was acting so strange. He glanced at the digital clock on the nightstand. It was three fifty. Folding up the note, he placed it inside his jean pocket. Although there was still ten minutes left, he felt as if he was in a great hurry. As he was about to head downstairs, a knock sounded on the door and he opened it.

"Tidus!" Calli panted, still trying to catch her breath. "I've found him!"

* * *

And that was chapter 16. Yes, I know; I should stop leaving you guys hanging like this, especially twice in a row, but I rather like ending my chapters this way. Anyways, I hope you all enjoyed it and _please_ review! They will make me feel better during this torturous time of mass studying for my finals. And remember, more reviews means faster update! Till next chapter :) 


	17. Ninety Nine Roses

A/N: Hey everyone! This is definitely the longest I have ever taken to update and I apologize for the wait! School has kept me busy up until the end of June and after that, I didn't have the inspiration I needed to finish writing this chapter. But finally, it has struck me and I was able to complete this chapter in a few hours. I want to thank all those who took the time to review as well as those who stuck by this story and never gave up hope that I would eventually post another chapter. You guys are absolutely the best and truly wonderful. I know that this chapter isn't as long as the previous chapters but I didn't want to get too far ahead of myself and then regret it later when I realize I shouldn't have let something happen or should have let something happen because I am still planning out the details of this story, which is taking longer than expected. It's quite tedious! But I do hope that I will have the next chapter up as soon as I can. However, I am going away for the next month and a bit and by the time I come back, school will be starting very soon, so I can't promise anything. Oh, and I know there is suppose to be a hyphen between ninety-nine in the chapter title, but fanfic won't let me put one there for some odd reason so yeah, there's just a space there now. Anyways, I won't keep you from this chapter any longer. Enjoy!

* * *

"Tidus!" Calli panted, still trying to catch her breath. "I've found him!" 

He looked at her in shock. "You have?" he inquired.

"Yes! Now come on," Calli said excitedly, grabbing onto his arm.

Tidus resisted her pull. "Calli, I have something really important I have to do right now. Can't this wait until after I'm done?"

"I've reasoned with them for hours and this is the only chance I'll get to prove my identity!" she exclaimed, frustrated and annoyed by his reply.

Tidus glanced at the digital clock resting on the cherry wood table next to his bed. He knew very well that he couldn't miss meeting Yuna but he also knew this may be their only chance to unravel the lies and deception everyone's been fooled by. He let out a heavy sigh.

Calli dropped to her knees. "Please, I'm begging you," she pleaded.

* * *

"I'll have a white chocolate mocha cappuccino with whipped cream please," Yuna told the waitress at the Red Rose Café. 

"Coming right up Miss. Yuna," the raven haired waitress replied before hurrying off to make her drink.

Yuna had arrived just several minutes shy of the designated meeting time and was relieved to find out that she was not late. She had been quite nervous the past hour about her meeting with Tidus. She had even thought out and rehearsed what she would say to him several dozen times in her hotel room. But after she had prepared herself, there was still forty minutes prior to four o'clock. It was unnerving just waiting around in her room with nothing to do, so she had decided to go take a look around the boutiques adjacent to the hotel. At least that would kill some time and help keep her mind off her meeting with Tidus. Just thinking about it would get the butterflies she had been trying to calm down in her stomach all worked up again.

Soon, the waitress came back with her drink and Yuna was left sipping it alone at her table while listening to the soothing melody that someone was playing on the piano.

* * *

"I'm sorry Calli," Tidus replied after much thought. "I know how important this is to you but I have something to do right now that means more than the world to me." 

"…Yuna?" she asked although she already knew the answer.

He nodded. Slowly, she picked herself up off the ground and stood facing him. A moment of silence passed between them before she looked up into his eyes.

"If you really love her that much, then go," she told him quietly. "I know something is not right between you two right now. You want to fix things with her, right?"

Tidus nodded. A brief moment of silence passed between them.

"Tell you what," Calli finally said after some consideration. "I'll go on ahead and talk to them first, then after you're done with Yuna, come and find me."

A smile spread across his lips. "Thanks Calli!" Tidus said brightly, feeling as if a heavy burden had been lifted off his shoulders.

"Don't mention it. I'll be over at City Hall first then I'm going to head over to the Crown Zanarkand hotel. Here's my cell phone number if you need to reach me," Calli told him as she scribbled down the room number and her cell on a notepad.

As he let her out of his room, Tidus took a quick glance at the clock again and disappointment washed over him. It was nearly 4:30. He closed his eyes and thought hard about what he should do. Then, an idea came to his mind and he hastily raced off, dashing down the emergency exit stairs towards the lobby.

* * *

Yuna checked her watch, 4:24. Pushing the empty glass away from her, she placed her hands onto her lap and glanced around the café. There was no sign of Tidus. At that exact moment, a tall man approached her table and took a seat across from Yuna. 

"Hello," he said with a smile.

"Sey-mour," Yuna said with a slight stutter. "What are you doing here?"

"We haven't talked in quite some time now," replied Seymour. "How've you been?"

"Fine," she replied, resolving to answer him as simply as she could. "I'm having a good time and I'm happy."

The smile on Seymour's face faded. "Are you now? Don't lie to me; I know something's troubling you. Talk to me about it."

Yuna swallowed uncomfortably, allowing a few seconds of silence to pass between them before speaking. "Whatever do you mean?"

He shook his head and chuckled, "I'm talking about you and that _blitzer boy_. You two used to be very friendly. But now, you don't even want him around anymore."

"I have no idea what you're talking about," Yuna replied quietly, avoiding any eye contact with him.

Seymour surveyed her for a moment before a corner of his mouth turned up, but it wasn't a smile, not even close. It was more or less something that said 'I know more than you think so don't even bother with the nonsense and deceptions'.

"You've never been good at lying you know," he stated calmly. He extended a hand to her. "Let me help you, Yuna."

Yuna's eyes fell upon his hand, a sense of uncertainty enveloping her. How did Seymour know that she was troubled about Tidus? Why was he helping her? If anything, it would be logical for him to _want_ to see them apart. He had never liked seeing them together before. But instead, here he was sitting right across from Yuna, offering his help.

"I don't need any help because there's nothing wrong," Yuna told him, plastering on a fake smile. He was the last person she wanted to know about Tidus and her situation.

As Seymour was about to speak up again, Rikku dashed into the café and stopped in front of Yuna, her left hand making contact with the table.

"Yunie! I need to talk to you. _Now_," Rikku said urgently as she cast a disgusted side-glance at Seymour.

Yuna quickly nodded, glad for a means of escape from him. "Sorry, but I must go now," she said before getting up and heading upstairs with Rikku.

As soon as the metal doors of the elevator slammed shut behind them, Rikku frantically spoke to her best friend. "Yunie, what were you doing with him? Guess who I saw? I can't believe it!"

"Rikku, slow down, I don't understand what you're saying," said Yuna, pressing the number seven on the panel with her index finger.

The Al Bhed took in a deep breath before starting over again. "First, what were you doing with Seymour?"

"Tidus never showed up but Seymour did and he seems to know about what happened with Tidus and me. He offered me help."

"Okay. Second, you'll never guess who I saw," Rikku rambled on.

"Who?" Yuna asked.

"Tidus and Calli! Together! I saw Calli exit _his_ room when he was supposed to be downstairs meeting with _you_! I can't believe him!" exclaimed Rikku, throwing her arms up into the air.

Yuna froze, unable to believe what she just heard. Her mouth was ajar but words seemed to have failed her as her mind tried to digest the information.

Rikku walked over to Yuna's side and placed a hand gently on her shoulder. "I'm so sorry Yunie," she said softly. "I don't want you to be hurt, but I think it's better for you to find out this way than actually seeing for yourself."

A soft chime indicated the elevator had reached floor seven and the shiny metal doors slid open. As they walked down the hall towards their room, Yuna kept struggling with herself. Part of her refused to believe that Tidus would miss meeting her to be with Calli, but part of her also believed what Rikku had just said. Numerous thoughts crossed through her mind. _I need to trust my heart, my gut instinct,_ she told herself. A moment later, she made up her mind. With renewed confidence strong within her, Yuna turned to face Rikku.

"I'm sure it was nothing," she told Rikku.

Her eyes widened. "But Yunie-"

"I trust him," Yuna replied firmly as she stopped in front of their hotel room. "My heart tells me that I should have faith in him."

Rikku was speechless. "Alright, if you truly believe him..."

"I do believe Tidus," she confirmed. Yuna watched Rikku struggling for words but finally give up. Sliding the card key into the lock, she allowed herself inside.

The moment her sapphire and emerald coloured eyes traveled away from the dark wood door and into their luxury suite, a soft gasp left Yuna's lips and she stopped dead in her tracks, causing Rikku to bump into her.

"Hey-" began the Al Bhed but ceased when she spotted what her cousin had seen.

Perched upon Yuna's king sized bed was the biggest bouquet of crimson roses either girls had ever seen before. Rikku squealed excitedly and began bouncing up and down on the spot but Yuna was still in a state of awe.

"Come on Yunie!" she cried enthusiastically, placing her hands on Yuna's shoulders and steering her towards the flowers. "I want to know who they're from!"

Rikku bent over and began counting the number of roses there were. Searching the bouquet, Yuna came across a small, baby-blue coloured card sticking out from the countless long stemmed roses and baby breaths. Immediately, she recognized the handwriting on the envelope.

It was from Tidus.

Pulling out the card, she began reading his message slowly:

_Yuna,_

_I'm very sorry that I missed meeting you today. I hope you can forgive me._

_Please meet me tonight outside the east entrance to the blitzball stadium at eight._

_I'll be waiting._

_Tidus_

Replacing the card back into its envelope after reading it through three times, Yuna thought to herself, _I'll be there_.

Realizing that Yuna was done reading, Rikku straightened up. "There are exactly 99 roses, no more, no less. I wonder why they chose such a number of roses? Who are they from anyway?"

"They're from Tidus," Yuna said softly, sitting down next to the bouquet. "And 99 roses mean 'I love you'."

Rikku took a seat across from her. "He went through all this to make up for missing you at the café. I guess you were right about him then."

Yuna nodded at her and smiled, something which had been absent from her face the past few days.

* * *

An hour later, Yuna, Rikku, Gippal, and Lulu were waiting in the lobby of the Ritz Zanarkand hotel for Tidus and Wakka. Seymour and Calli had already gone on ahead to the restaurant they would be having dinner at tonight. A few minutes later, the elevator doors glided open and the two men stepped out, strolling towards the ladies. 

"What took so long?" Lulu questioned her husband.

"Sorry to keep you all waiting, ya. We can go now," replied Wakka, casting a mischievous grin at Tidus, who returned it.

As they all headed outside to the limo, Tidus looked over at Yuna, who caught his eye and gave him a small smile. He smiled back at her and without having to ask, already knew that she took up on his offer of meeting tonight.

The Paladin Steakhouse and Grill was packed full of diners by the time the party arrived. They did not have to wait though since Seymour and Calli already got them a table. As they six of them seated themselves around the two of them, two waiters came by with menus for each person. For the appetizer, the group ordered two plates of potato skins and an extra large bowl of green salad. The main course consisted of fajitas filled with cheese, chicken, bacon, bell peppers, and sautéed onions for Yuna, Tidus, and Gippal; baked salmon for Lulu and Calli; honey barbecue ribs for Rikku; and Philly steaks for Wakka and Seymour. Desserts were either ice cream sundaes, or fruit parfaits.

By the time everyone finished their meal, it was half past seven and a small portion of diners had been cleared out. They decided to head back to their rooms as well, feeling the need to relax at the hotel's luxury spas and sauna services available. When everyone had gone down to get massages, Yuna and Tidus headed outside into the cool night air together. A light breeze was ruffling through their hair gently and the sound of quiet waves washing against the cobblestone bridge could be heard. Neither of them said a word until they reached a bench at the blitzball stadium.

Yuna turned to Tidus, "Thank you for the roses. They were absolutely gorgeous."

Tidus smiled, "I'm glad you like them. And I'm sorry about-"

But Yuna cut him off. "Don't worry about it. I know you must have had something important to do. What I want to know is where did you get all those roses from? I'm sure no florist in Zanarkand has that much in stock at any one time."

He grinned at her. "Not one, single florist, but all the florists in Zanarkand combined. I bought every last rose every florist had in this city. But I made sure there were exactly 99 because of the significant meaning it has."

She beamed at him then wrapped her arms around Tidus' and rested her head on his shoulder, gazing out beyond the dark, vast ocean before them at the twinkling city lights. The sense of peace and tranquility Yuna felt at that moment was very welcoming. She didn't understand why she always felt this way whenever she was with Tidus, she just relished it. All she knew for certain was that she felt safe with him.

Tidus studied her expression. He wanted to ask her about her behaviour the past few days and was considering his words carefully. He had discovered something that afternoon which gave him enough information to determine why she had acted the way she did, but he still couldn't confirm the whole story yet. There was still a gap to be filled in, something he needed to be confirmed, and Yuna was the only one who could do that. After some thought, he decided it would be best not to mention Calli at all. But just when he was about to inquire about it, Yuna spoke up.

"Maybe we should head back. I'm a little tired," she voiced softly.

He nodded and they got up off the bench. Tidus took her hand and they headed back towards the hotel. He was still studying her, trying to read her thoughts, but all he could see was a small smile on her beautiful face. After he had walked her to her hotel room and said their goodnights, Tidus concluded he would not question her about it at all.

He had a feeling that the answer would be revealed to him in due time.

* * *

And that was chapter 17. I hope you all liked it and _please, please, please_ review!! I will love you for it! Let me know you were one of those people who never gave up on this story! Who did Calli find? What does Tidus know about why Yuna was acting the way she was? All will be revealed in due time. Till next chapter :) 


	18. Childhood Memories

A/N: Hey everyone! This update took even longer than the last one and I apologize for the wait! Now to answer a few questions. Why haven't I been updating sooner? Well, school has been _so_ hectic this year but I have managed to survive. Now that I'm on my summer break, I will definitely try to update faster, otherwise I'll probably get hit by more bananas lol. There are a few things I haven't told you yet, such as who Calli is searching for. Don't worry, you will know in due time. Now I want to thank all my fabulous reviewers as well as those who continue to stick by this story. You guys are the greatest! On a side note, I noticed that chapter 3 had the most number of views/hits. I don't know why but I'm guessing that there is something about Yuna's past that intrigues the majority of my readers, which is good seeing as I had planned to continue revealing little bits of her childhood in the coming chapters. Let's just say that it will be one of the biggest plot twists to come... Anyways, I won't keep you from this chapter any longer. Enjoy!

* * *

The next morning was a sunny one, with only a few wispy clouds visible across the bright blue sky. Yuna, who had gotten the first good nights sleep in a while, was up especially early and had gone to the hotels private indoor pool for a swim.

After everyone had washed up, the group headed downstairs for the buffet breakfast that was available. Taking their seats around a rectangular table, they selected the beverage of their choice with the waiter before going about filling their plates with everything from croissants, scrambled eggs, and sausages to hash browns and raisin bread. As they settled down to feast at their table once more, everyone began doing what they did every morning. Yuna and Rikku were having a rather difficult conversation, with Gippal stealing food from Rikku's plate while she fought to retrieve them back; Lulu and Wakka were sharing a light conversation with Tidus, Calli was listening to her iPod while eating, and Seymour was sipping coffee while reading the newspaper.

When everyone had finished their meal, they dispersed and headed off in different directions as they had decided that this would be their day off for personal activities. Lulu and Wakka chose to take a tour around the metropolis city of Zanarkand and had climbed into a taxi heading for the Dome while Calli had rushed off in another taxi before anyone could ask her what she was planning to do. As Seymour was advancing towards Yuna, Rikku quickly interjected.

"Yunie's spending the entire day with me."

He ceased his pacing and gave Yuna a small smile, hardly dejected by the news. "Maybe I can accompany you ladies-"

"We're heading to the spa," Rikku retorted, annoyed with his persistence. "For facials and oil massages. I'm sure you're not interested in getting a manicure too, are you?"

"Of course not," Seymour replied with a light chuckle. "Maybe we can meet up for dinner instead then?"

"We are having a girl's night out so I've already made reservations for the two of us tonight," the Al Bhed countered. "And the restaurant is booked solid so you can't add an extra seat either."

Yuna watched the scene before her, her eyes traveling from one person to the other then back to the first. Sensing the rising tension between her best friend and publicist, she decided it would be best to end the argument as soon as possible.

"Sorry Seymour, maybe another time," said Yuna apologetically.

"Of course," he muttered, feeling defeated by Yuna's comment. "In that case, I hope you ladies will have a wonderful time."

With that, he turned on his heel and stormed off, cursing beneath his breath. As soon as he was out of sight, Rikku let out a sigh of relief.

"That guy just never gives up does he?" the Al Bhed questioned with a hand on her hip.

"Who doesn't?" Gippal questioned, bemused by the whole ordeal.

"Nevermind," Rikku replied quickly.

He shrugged. "Come on then," he said playfully, placing his arm around her shoulders from behind and gently tugging her along backwards.

"Hey!" Rikku complained, releasing herself from her boyfriend's grip and taking his hand. "I'll see you tonight for dinner at six at the Mexican Grill Yunie!"

Yuna waved after them, "Alright!"

A moment later, Tidus spoke up. "I guess this leaves the two of us to spend the day together."

She turned to him and gave him a light nod. He smiled back, feeling as if a heavy weight had been lifted off of him. Although they had made up last night, Tidus still had a sense of uncertainty when he was around Yuna. He still did not understand the whole situation after all and he felt he should be a bit more cautious now that they were back on good terms. The last thing he wanted was to have Yuna ignoring him again.

"Show me around your hometown," Yuna requested. "I've never been here before. Tell me what it was like growing up in this big city, the city that never sleeps."

Tidus nodded and together, they took a walking tour around Zanarkand. Their first stop was Tidus' old house, which was located several blocks away from their hotel. Although his family had moved to Besaid a year ago, his parents never sold their home in Zanarkand because they had planned on coming back to visit friends and relatives at least twice a year. Their old home was something similar to what one would consider their cottage or private getaway. For Tidus' parents, it was a place full of sentiments and memories.

They stopped in front of a grand house where Tidus pressed the password on a pin pad to unlock the iron gates guarding the mansion then made their way up the driveway. Pulling out a silver key to unlock the door, Tidus let Yuna in before allowing himself into his old home.

"Make yourself at home," he told Yuna, who smiled and nodded.

Yuna slowly surveyed the large house, taking in everything from the lavish furnishing to the many pictures of his family standing on the hallway tables and hanging on the wall. The main floor of the house was constructed entirely of hardwood flooring.

A large double door closet occupied the space immediately to the right of the front doors while a shoe rack faced it to the left. A set of frosted glass doors further down the hallway lead to a study, where a large oak wood desk stood facing the doors with a cushioned chair tucked behind it. Uncountable framed pictures of the Zanarkand Abes throughout many centuries lined the beige coloured walls, with some as old as when Jecht himself played for the team back in his twenties to as recent as him coaching the team in his mid fourties before his retirement several years back.

The entire wall behind the desk were five built-in oak wood shelves, where countless folders of old blitzball teams information were filed away neatly on the bottom three rows while innumerable gold plates and trophies stood tidily on the topmost two rows of the shelves. A small chandelier hanging above the desk clearly illuminated the three pictures of their family standing upon the table as well as the newspaper clippings which were placed beneath a piece of glass resting on the desk.

"This study holds all of your father's achievements," Yuna said in awe, examining a picture of the first victory Jecht experienced since joining the team. "It's like his legacy."

Tidus grinned, "Yeah, everything blitzball is all right here. This place is like his own little haven."

"You must have been really proud to have a father like him," Yuna said gently, smiling at him.

"I still am," Tidus replied. "But there are some pressures I feel for having a father like mine. I feel I have so much to live up to."

"You can do it," Yuna voiced softly. "I know you can."

He beamed at her and taking her hand, led her out of the study. Continuing with their tour, they passed by the living room, which had a large four piece leather sofa set resting on a Persian rug, a birch wood coffee table, a hefty fireplace, two detailed replicate paintings of famous artwork, and a large window with an exceptional view of the city.

Next to the living room was the kitchen, which was built in the style of an open-kitchen. Numerous wooden cabinets with glass centered doors lined the walls and a single, crescent shaped island made of marble stood in the very middle. A few bar stools lined along the island invited guests to sit down and chat with the person whom was cooking or to even try out new dishes before anyone else. Small, patterned tiles in a soft shade of apple green partially covered the walls of the kitchen, making the room more warm and cozy. The 'open' part of the kitchen faced the dining area, which had a large, oval shaped mahogany wood table that could easily seat ten people. Behind the table stood a tall glass cabinet which held the fancier china as well as a collection of exquisite crystals. A larger chandelier made of glass and crystal hung above the table, adding a sense of elegance to the area.

"I can't believe you grew up in this house," Yuna said in awe. "Not only is it enormous, everything in it is so grand!"

Tidus laughed lightly. "I'll show you the family room before showing you the upstairs and basement."

Placing his hands on her shoulders, he steered her towards the back corner of the house where the family room was. This room was by far the cosiest room on the main floor with a large rug covering most of the hard wood floor. A soft leather couch with several cushions on it was against the wall and a rectangular glass table sat in front of it while a blue and green striped bean bag chair was placed off in a corner by itself. A smaller fireplace was adjacent from the couch and above it hung an enlarged photo of Tidus' family. A dimming lamp stood at one end of the sofa while a wall mounted lamp was situated above a plasma TV hanging on the wall across from the couch. A black, wood cabinet with little flowers carved into it sat below the TV, holding all the DVDs and such.

Taking a set of stairs to the upper level, Yuna was surprised to find that it was much simpler than the previous floor. The very first two rooms off to the left and right of the single hallway were the location of the guest rooms. They were modestly furnished, but luxurious enough to offer a sense of great comfort. Further down the hallway were two more rooms belonging to Tidus and his parents. Tidus' room was quite large, with a double bed, a spacious closet, a desk with a computer sitting on it, a square table with two cushioned chairs tucked behind it as well as a dresser littered with numerous photos of him with his blitzball team mates and ones with his family. The double windows above the dresser featured a view of the blitzball stadium.

The basement was an area for entertainment and socializing. There was a pool table, a three piece sofa set and a mini-bar set up to the left while a grand piano and a small dance floor faced it on the right. On the far wall of the basement was a large room for working out and doing yoga. Exiting the house, Yuna and Tidus took a leisurely walk through the spacious backyard which was filled with innumerable flowers and neatly trimmed bushes. A tall row of hedges lined the fence to add more privacy.

"Well, what did you think of my childhood home?" asked Tidus. He led them to a wood swing set entwined with vines so they could take a break to enjoy the scenery around them.

"It's really luxurious," Yuna replied, staring off into the distance. "It must have been nice growing up here."

"Is something wrong?" Tidus questioned, noticing the trace of sadness in her tone.

She shook her head, "No, it's just… I wish I had fond childhood memories like yours. You had a really warm childhood filled with love and comfort…"

Silence consumed the space around them. Tidus didn't know what to say. He had been absentmindedly talking about all his happy memories while touring the house, not realizing how they made Yuna feel. He had heard about her childhood from Lulu and Wakka but he had never heard Yuna's side of the story. All he knew was that she had lost her parents when she was still very young.

After what seemed like an eternity, Yuna spoke up again in a soft tone. "My parents passed away in a car crash many years ago. I was almost seven when it happened. I didn't understand it then, all I knew was that I would never see them again. I remember I had woken up the next morning to find Lulu and Wakka in tears."

_-Flashback-_

_It was a dreary morning, with grey clouds looming overhead and a steady drizzle beating against the windows. Yuna had woken up at nine o'clock and was looking forward to Lulu's famous buttermilk pancakes but instead found her on the couch buried behind a kleenex, sobbing, while Wakka stood by the window, staring outside with a grim and pained expression on his face. _

"_Auntie Lulu, I'm hungry," said Yuna, pulling on Lulu's sleeve. _

_Lulu lowered the kleenex from her eyes, which were red and swollen. "Come here Yuna," she sobbed quietly._

_Yuna sat down next to her obediently. "Why are you crying?"_

_Taking in a shaky breathe, Lulu tried to calm down her sobs. "Yuna, your parents…"_

"_When will mommy and daddy come back?" asked Yuna. "I miss them."_

"_Wakka and I are going to take care of you from now on," Lulu murmured._

_Wakka strolled over to where his fiancée was and placed an arm around her while he gently stroked Yuna's hair._

"_They've gone to a very, very far away place and it will take an extremely long time before they come back," said Wakka weakly._

"_Where did they go?" Yuna questioned._

_Wakka thought for a moment before answering, "Just… someplace very far away."_

_Yuna nodded. She understood that her parents were always away on business trips all over Spira and that this time, it would be no different. "I'm hungry." _

"_I'll make some pancakes," Lulu said in a strained voice, grabbing a few more kleenexes before disappearing into the kitchen. _

_Not too long after finishing breakfast as Yuna was enjoying her Saturday morning cartoons, two men dressed in uniforms showed up at their door._

"_Are you acquainted with Braska and Lianne?" asked a police._

"_Yes, we're good friends," replied Wakka._

"_Then we'd like you to come with us to identify and claim some items that were found with them," the police stated._

_Wakka turned to Lulu, who was standing next to him. "I'll go," he offered. "You look after Yuna."_

_Lulu nodded, watching from the doorway until the police car drove out of sight. Shutting the door, she turned around and returned to the kitchen, busying herself with nothing in particular. An hour later, Wakka returned with a large paper envelope in his hand. Fetching his fiancée, they retreated into their room. Curious, Yuna followed them, peeking through a small gap from the door which was left ajar._

_Wakka opened the envelope and emptied its contents. Lulu picked up a necklace and examined it briefly before clasping a hand over her mouth._

"_I gave this to Lianne for her birthday a few years back," she breathed, fresh tears gliding down her pale face. _

_Wakka gave her hand a comforting squeeze but said nothing as he continued to sort through the items._

"_It's so hard to believe this really happened to them," she whispered, wiping away a tear._

"_I know. Lianne and Braska were such wonderful people," replied Wakka. "But now, they're gone forever… How can we tell Yuna that her parent's are never coming back?"_

_Horror gripped her heart and Yuna pushed open the door, "Why aren't they coming back?"_

"_Yuna!" Lulu gasped, startled by her sudden appearance. _

"_Why?" Yuna wailed as tears began flowing down her cheeks._

_Wakka let out a heavy sigh, knowing very well that he would have to tell her the truth now. "Yuna, come here."_

_She obeyed and took a seat between them, still sobbing._

"_Your parents," Wakka said gravely, "were in an accident… and they didn't make it. They've passed away."_

_Lulu closed her eyes as fresh tears cascaded down her face. "I'm sorry Yuna," she said in a barely audible whisper as she embraced the small child._

_Yuna clenched her small hands around Lulu's sweater, crying uncontrollably…_

_-Flashback Ends-_

Silence consumed the space around them once again. Only the wind broke the stillness by lightly rustling the leaves and gently swaying the swing they were sitting on. Yuna continued to look off into the distance, deep thought clouding her jade and marine eyes. Tidus had no idea that she held such painful memories. He had no idea that the accident was still so hard for her. He clasped her hand and was about to speak when her cell phone rang, cutting him off.

Reaching inside her purse, Yuna pulled out a shiny blue and silver flip phone. "Hello? Hey Rikku. I'm at Tidus' old house. Oh, I must have lost track of time! I'm sorry, I'll be right there."

Yuna turned to Tidus, "I was supposed to meet Rikku for dinner half an hour ago and I completely lost track of time."

"Good thing we're not too far from the Mexican Grill," Tidus said as he took her hand and began strolling back towards the house.

* * *

"Those were the best tacos and burritos I've ever had," Rikku commented happily as they headed back to the hotel. "I wish I had gotten the fajita too, it sounded delicious."

Gippal chuckled, "Heh, your moods swings sure are something."

"Hey! What's that suppose to mean?" Rikku countered.

"Well, you were very impatient and grouchy when Yuna didn't show up for half an hour and any minute now you're going to start bouncing off the walls," he teased.

Rikku pulled back a sleeve and showed him her balled up fist. Quickly sensing danger, Gippal began dodging around Yuna, using her as a barrier between him and his girlfriend.

Tidus laughed at the scene before him. Despite the fact that they were head over heels for each other, Gippal never gave up on a chance to tease Rikku.

"Yuna, you have to stick with me until I'm in my room," Gippal said jovially while dodging Rikku's arm. "otherwise, Cid's girl will get me."

"I thought you said you would never call me that again!" the Al Bhed complained.

Gippal chuckled and gave her a wink before running off towards the hotel.

"Oh poopie," Rikku grumbled, staring after the swiftly retreating figure.

At that last comment, Yuna and Tidus both burst out laughing.

* * *

"Thank you for showing me your old house today," Yuna told Tidus with a smile.

"It was nothing," he replied, returning the smile.

He watched Rikku dig through her bag for her key card to open the door and after she had disappeared into the hotel room, he leaned in and placed a small kiss on Yuna's cheek.

"Good night," said Yuna before entering the room as well.

As Tidus was about to walk back to his room, Rikku appeared in the hallway with an icebox in her hand. As if a light switch had flicked on in his head, he remembered what he had wanted to say earlier to Yuna in his backyard.

"Rikku, can I talk to you for a second?" he questioned.

* * *

And that was chapter 18. I hope you liked it and please hit that button below to _review, review, review_! The more reviews I get, the faster I'll update! Till next chapter :)


End file.
